Hi everyone. Posting on the train, so this will be brief.

The train is delayed due to issues with a new safety system. My trains have been running late by a few minutes since last week for vaious other reasons- signal problems, mechanical failure, etc. And they will be slowing down when the temps go above 95 degrees tomorrow because of increased stress on the tracks. Bleh. I hope tomorrow is a miracle because i have a hair appointment after work.

Still busy at work, up against a deadline. Devoted most of today to one thing, too much time...but it was worthwhile because i finally found a big error made by an audit done by a third party.

Okay, my battery is down to 5%, so I'll post this. All of you have a good rest of the day.

Hello Everyone,

The stress of the past month finally caught up with me. I have been eating like crap since Monday and I woke up today with the worst headache and sick to my stomach from it. I stayed home and worked as I have a lot to do before I go on vacation next week and then start my new job on August 1.

So I took Excedrine Migraine and sat the ice pack on my head and worked and worked. I am about to turn the computer off but wanted to come post here where it is easier to type on the keyboard than my phone.

I am back on track with my food today but no workout due to my head pounding.

Ceejay: Tell me more about what and when you will be doing the MRC.

Laura: I head it will be in the 100 F tomorrow through the weekend. Be careful on that train! When is your deadline that you are working against? Since you found a big error by the 3rd party audit what happens now? I hope they give you a bonus!

I hope you can make your hair appointment tomorrow. Fingers crossed for you.

Hello to all the rest of the Wordlies...come post.....it gets lonely here.

Afternoon all,
Another glorious winters day here. I spent some time out in the garden this morning and then went round and checked out a friends place while they are away, watered their garden and gathered the mail. Back home again now and I will try to get outside again shortly. There is plenty to do out there and the dog will enjoy a game of ball no doubt.

Having a hassle with the new NBN (National Broadband Network) and am currently engaged in warfare with the Telco and the NBN company. They seem to think I need to get an electrician in to put cable into the house and put in a data point. Well I don't think so. They should be doing it themselves, after all they are the ones that are insisting on me having the NBN - it's not an option. I have to have it or will have no internet, no phone, no connections etc. Gotta love the pollies, they don't stop to think about how some of these things will affect the general population.

Ceejay - Glad to hear that you are continuing with MRC. Keep trucking on.

Laura - thought you must be busy with deadlines and projects since you normally post regularly. Hope you don't have a train problem tomorrow. Don't you just love it when the lack of maintenance on infrastructure comes round to bite the user in the butt?

Susie - Sorry to hear that the stress has finally got to you. But you are now back on the straight and narrow so good luck with that. Are you going away during your holidays? Good riddance to the old boss eh?

Okay, not much more to add. Dog has been here all week since DS2 has been in Stanthorpe. Temps up there have been very cool. It was -6C there the other morning. He's not used to that. He should be back tonight or tomorrow day time.
My tomatoes are ripening slowly in the garden and the new batch of cauliflowers are growing well (when the dog isn't sitting on them) I also have garlic and onions and shallots in now. They will take a while to grow so I should get some more quick crops in there like beans and spinach and lettuce. The broccoli grew huge and tall but not much in the way of flowers on it so it came out last week. I have lemons and limes on the citrus trees and the lavender is growing fast and attracting bees like crazy.

And that's about it for today, nothing else happening here. It's dry and cool unless you sit out in the sun and I'm about to take a glass of wine out there along with my book and sit for a while before I feed the animals, bring in the laundry and close up the house for the night. Have a good one.

Morning
I've been in Branson for a couple of day's. I picked up BIL from his IV session on Monday and brought him back to Branson. He'd been sick last week end and got dehydrated. I took him back yesterday for my IV fluids and brought him back to Branson. He was feeling good so I came back home. Sis will take him tomorrow. He's getting ready for another round of chemo on Monday. Sis needs to work to keep their insurance. Bil did sign up for Medicare last month.
Not much else is going on. It's going to be a hot one today.
Nephew came and got the remainder of his clothes.

Morning all. I took the laptop home from work so I could complete a mandatory compliance course. The due date for completion was yesterday, but between my projects and an employee survey that was also due yesterday, I just didn't have time to get it done. Glad to have my old monitor, docking station, keyboard, and mouse set up in the home office to make it easier.

I completed the course in about 30 minutes and since I'm already online, I've been looking at this and that. Local newspaper site. Social security site - checked out what my estimated benefits will be down the road. Also checked my earnings record against my tax records to ensure the last 10 years are correct. Of course, I'm thinking I should get rid of some of my old tax documents...my village's document destruction event is coming up in August....have to think about purging the tax files.

And now I'm here. I'll catch up on personals

Susie - You asked about the summer hours program. Our company had a program in the past that we had to work extra hours over the course of two weeks in order to get a Friday off every other week, or something like that. Now they made it so we don't have to work extra hours. We get 4 half-days to use during the summer (or 2 full days). So another couple days available. I like the new exercise bike - very quiet and smooth. I agree with you - I like coming here and visiting with all of you. I lurk around on FB and like a few things here and there, but never really post. It's just not a place I want to post everything to the world. So I look at funny/cute animal videos, LOL. My work deadline is a bit loose, target was this past week, but hope to really finish the majority of it this coming week. I hope you're feeling better and that you enjoy your vacation next week!!!

Shad - How is the flooring going? Is your dog buddy helping you with that? How was the historic house walk/Christmas in July? Sounds fun. You hit the nail on the head re the train - they let the maintenance and capital improvements go (due to budget issues, mismanagement, and corruption/embezzlement) and now we pay for it. Oh, fresh citrus right on the property - sounds delightful. Reminds me to use up the rest of the lemons in the fridge to make some lemonade. Yum.

Happy - How is the new gym working out? Or should I say, are you working out at the new gym, LOL. A pool sounds good right about now - we've had really hot weather the past several days, as is a huge part of the country. Of course it was very cooling when I unintentionally spilled an entire glass of water on myself earlier this morning, lol. Glad most of it got my pajamas and not the floor and sofa. Hope you're still busy enjoying life on your own terms and not getting bogged down in the volunteer drama again... We haven't pursued the purchase of a fancy massage chair, though I do check out craigslist for that and a number of other items that I (think) I want.

Ceejay - How is the MRC program going? I hope you are doing something to de-stress. You're retired - no stress allowed!! I'm sure you and Happy and Shad are laughing about that. Jobs/work are not the only stressors in life, for sure. Sending healing thoughts to your BIL.

Annie - How's it going at the new job? Was glad to see on FB that your SIL had a successful surgery. Happy belated bday to Miss Sassy!

==
My train was not delayed on Thursday and I made it to my hair appoint on time. No long delays getting home yesterday either, just a wee bit slower. I was happy to get home and be in the AC, but I did step out again to put the hose on a shrub I planted last weekend. Have to baby it until it gets established. Bf and I went out to dinner - rejected our first restaurant choice because all the seating faces a wall of giant floor to ceiling windows catching the western sun and it was stuffy in there. It was in the 90's with a heat index in the 100's - we wanted someplace nice and cool. Ended up at a (primarily) breakfast place that also serves lunch and dinner and it was fine.

I went to bed relatively early last night because I was tired. I managed to get up a bit earlier 3 days this week to use my new exercise bike. Just have to keep plugging away and at some point it will be a routine.

I don't plan on doing any running around today - it's another hot, humid day and I dislike running errands in this weather. The car gets hot and has to cool down all over again between each stop. But...that said...I do need to pay a cc bill that I usually do via the bank's atm that's convenient to my office. Didn't have time to get there yesterday, and I didn't want to leave the office anyway due to the heat. Maybe the branch nearest to home has a drive-thru atm and I won't have to leave the car...The library is having their quarterly book sale. I sure don't need books...but it's tempting. Sometimes I find workout dvds there too. It's actually a good day to spend poking around the basement (nice and cool down there) looking for things to get rid of, and doing laundry while I'm down there.

Okay, gonna stop rambling and post this, shut down the computer and eat a late breakfast. Have a great Saturday/Sunday everyone!

Oh my gosh guys - since I started here in 2002 I don't think I have ever gone this long without posting. 2 weeks! I should be ashamed...


July has been really busy between painting classes, yoga, physical therapy and I am being pulled into the Thrift Shop again although this time in a supportive role to another friend who has stepped in to help with the chaos going on there. B is doing a much needed job and it would be wrong to leave it all on her shoulders. My bingo partner who was the shop manager is stepping away - issues with his impending divorce, favoritism and snubs from the ladies in back who sided with his soon to be ex-wife. It is time for him to step away and that uncoupling was a difficult task too. Also I am sooooo ticked off at how I am being pushed out of the senior center by management who wants me out of there. They won't directly confront me but are being passive aggressive. It did give me the nudge I needed to turn over passwords to the Facebook, website and newspaper media. I also gave 2 weeks notice to my partner at bingo but being the devil he is and really needing my support he brought it up at bingo in front of the whole crowd on Thursday. They were all cheering and whistling and telling me that I CAN'T LEAVE. It was touching. I love these people, I do enjoy the social outlet but the management are devious people who are pushing others out too - not just me. I have a hard time supporting an organization that treats you so badly especially after all I have done and given to them. But like Laura once said - think of the ones you are ultimately supporting. So I will maybe just limit my time to bingo.


I started a class in Chronic Pain Management and we had one session. Then to my disappointment they cancelled the class because people dropped out. I don't know what they were expecting. But it looked like a good class so I am sad about that. I am still doing yoga with a bit more enticement to move more from my Fitbit. We have not made it to the gym for various reasons but will try again Monday. DH's knee pain has healed. One of my teeth (new crown) flared up badly last weekend. I could not stand to touch it and had a hard time eating eggs or pasta for 2 days. It calmed down by the time I got to the dentist but in the past I have had issues with a nerve going bad after I got a crown in. He gave me antibiotics in case it flares again and told me to call if it's further trouble. The prescription which would normally be about $2 was close to $20 because I don't have anything other than the basic minimal requirement for a prescription drug plan. Still at $20 cheaper than a $60 a month premium with a $250 deductible!! My garden is going slowly - the bell peppers were a flop, will buy them from the store. My yellow squash started gangbusters but petered out with our hot humid weather. Another thing that I don't eat enough of so will buy from the store instead. Cucumbers are slowly growing and so are the tomatoes. I ate the first of 3 tiny orange cherry tomatoes - they were ok but not bursting with flavor. We had a cool spring and then intense heat the last 3 weeks which messed with my squash plant and killed off the sugar snap peas. We got one bowl which for what I paid for 8 plants was an expensive bowl!! Should really start in the greenhouse from seed. I am getting too old to want to mess with all of this. On the other hand, my garden is beautiful. The landscaping they put in 3 years ago finally took off. I will have to post pictures on FB. It's just lucious and gorgeous. Also all my flowers on the deck are doing well in pots - so happy with it. I just wish we had more butterflies and the hummingbirds would go to them. They are around, just not interested in the plants. We sold our boat - I think I said that, will close on the land next door in 2 weeks I think. We had some hiccups with the process but we are comfortable we got everything ironed out. Physical therapy is going slow with my back. It has been a slow source of pain. Beware those of you who spend so much time on the computer!! I have to stick with icing it twice a day and doing ALL of my exercises. And trying to cut back on computer time which lately has been hard when you get pulled into so many things. I am going to see a chiropractor next week - am not a fan of them, had a bad experience BUT the therapist now is doing some spinal manipulation which is helping alot and the chiropractor at the clinic is highly, highly recommended. I am concerned about what if anything Medicare will pay for the current P/T I have already had so we are going the massage (which I pay out of pocket for) and chiropractor (insurance paid) route going forward. When I was at P/T last week all of a sudden the power snapped off. Apparently they had some big explosion due to the excessive heat at the power substation - knocked out power to 43,000 people which in our spread out population is pretty far and wide. Was out for 3 and a half hours in 90 degree plus heat and high humidity. People driving were actually courteous obeying an automatic 4 way stop at street signals that were not working. Fortunately we only lost power for about 15 minutes at our house - probably due to a surge. And finally I am really enjoying my watercolor art painting class but unfortunately have not had the time to actually practice other than the day of class. I do feel overwhelmed a bit with so much here in the house to work on. Nagging at me also is the NEED to get to the mancave and 3rd garage bay and go through the boxes which have been sitting there since we moved in 8 years ago and need to be dealt with before once again the cold weather comes through. DH has been tossing large black mystery garbage bags filled to the brim but avoids telling me what's in them. I think he is tired of me saying I will clean and I don't so he is purging and figures I will never know what he threw out!!! And we have had 2 deaths of people we knew - one was a kind soul who was a staple at the Thrift Shop. When the original store burned down in 2014, he listed from memory what was on the shelves to help with the insurance payout. He was a wonderful guy we all loved - his wife passed away 2 years ago and he battled cancer a few times in his life until it finally took him. We will miss him dearly. And then there was the death of the husband of friends of ours. The girl I went to high school with - she was married 3 times and buried 3 husbands. So sad. When she met K he wanted to get married and she said she could not bury another husband and made him promise not to die on her. They were only married a few years. It started with some rogue cells from treated prostate cancer that showed up but he actually got a different cancer in the lungs. The last 18 months have been a horrid round of pain and misery - he had many ill reactions to chemo. They went to their place in Florida for the winter where he could continue treatment at a very good hospital but he had so many problems. Like my cousin (going to the same hospital) they both said enough already - and elected to just go home and let nature take it's course. K just passed 2 days ago and L will bring his ashes up here to scatter them. My heart breaks for her. Such bad luck. She is not close to her family but has many friends and support up here so eventually she will be ok. So that's what my busy life has been like. Most mornings I have something to do right after coffee so I have not been posting alot and the last week I didn't even get here to read things. Again I will try not to be so bad...


Laura - we saw on the news that they were suspending trains due to concerns about the heat and the rails. In all my years I don't ever remember anything like that. Mostly just the switches freezing in bitterly cold weather. How much earlier of a train do you have to catch to compensate for the delays??? How nice - I just scrolled down to see that you have posted over my head. Now I can reply to you!! Had to laugh at you giving yourself an unintended cool down with the spilled water! LOL I do miss the pool we had in Memphis in my backyard but not all the heat and humidity that went with it. I'm glad you are finding the new bike to your liking. How nice that your company gives people the option to leave early over the summer. Time is almost more important than money!! Hope you can stay cool in that blistering heat. The bad thing about that is bad weather. We have actually had tornadoes up this way - far off from where I'm at but still scary to think about. And if not tornadoes just the bad winds, hail and flooding rains that they can bring.


Ceejay - I am sorry to hear about your BIL's struggles. Prayers to him. So did your nephew move back with his wife? I think that is drama you don't really need. I hope you find a way to stick with the MRC since you did see some success with it. I know it's realy hard to stick with a program when you have a busy life.


Hello to Annie - happy birthday to Sassy. How is the new job coming along? I was glad to see your SIL's surgery was successful. Hope for a good, quick recovery and back to life again.


Shad - enjoy the better temps of winter while you can. I love the idea of fresh citrus trees. Are they easier than dealing with the pest woes of apple or peach trees? At least you don't have to worry about black bears making themselves at home in your apple trees and helping themselves like we do here! Have to laugh at the dog smashing your cauliflowers even if you don't' think it's funny. Why doesn't he just sit in his pool to cool off? Sounds like you still have a nice crop of vegs to enjoy. How are the house renovations coming along? How is your leg doing too?


Susie - does it look like the new job will be interesting? I can imagine the stress you are under. When you are feeling pressured to perform extra hard at the old job, just remember their actions or lack of forced you to move in the first place. I hope you can get your eating and exercise back on track. So easy to slip off the rails. Just a temporary lapse. You can do this. Where are you going on vacation? Something to look forward to and a nice closure to ending your current job. They won't be able to contact you when they realize what they gave up


It is dark and gray here today. We had bad storms last night and there is weather around us. It is dark enough out there to seem like it's 8:30 at night - just at twilight. Not exactly motivating weather although it's blessedly cool again and I can open the windows - at least just a few that Bimmy can't try and escape through! We have a couple of baby fawns and 16 baby turkey chicks that amuse her outside and she'd love to run with them. I need to rustle up something for lunch for us and then get SOMETHING done today and off this computer. Then I need to unstiffen from sitting her for far too long.


Enjoy your weekend ladies!

Good morning ladies,


Day 1. Up at 5am. Out the door by 6:15. 45 minutes in the pool doing leg and arm and back work. There are 3 swim lanes, only 2 of us swimming. Even if the 3rd lane is in use, I can still do walking in the shallow depth part of the pool. The water was comfortable for me. Also it's a salt water pool so have to be careful to keep my mouth closed also hoping this won't play h-e-double hockey sticks with my colored hair DH said he walked 2 miles while I swam. It's a very basic fitness center - wish they had changing rooms, the shower stalls are narrow and wet so you can't get dressed in there. The only place to get dressed with some privacy is in the toilet stall. Otherwise the locker room is open and I never, even when younger, had the body confidence to walk around nekkid. I did work my back quite a bit. Hope this will help with the aches and pains. I did what everyone typically does - got religious about icing and exercise while I was hurting, then felt better and didn't think about it until it flared up in pain again. When will I learn? Came home and made a smoothie - fresh peaches and blueberries from the peach truck, peach yogurt, some coconut oil, chia seeds, a small bit of the residual crumbs of this chia/flax/coconut snack mix I have and a scoop of protein powder - vanilla ice cream flavored I offered some to DH and he took a glass up to the computer, came down, finished the last 1/2 cup in the blender and then got out the scraper and scraped his glass clean and drank it. I guess he liked it!


I did get peaches from the peach truck - bought 2 boxes, sold a half box to a friend and gave away pretty much the better part of a box - but only to the people I like save for 4 peaches I put in a pretty basket and donated as an extra raffle prize at bingo. (2 people came up to me and asked if they could buy the peaches ) Everyone seemed to enjoy them. I have a dozen in the refrigerator and about 8 in a bowl on the counter. I guess I will freeze some of what's in the refrigerator so we can have smoothies later. I still have about 8 jars of ones I canned last year.


So the nice thing is that it's still early and I have the whole day ahead of me. Good thing as I started going through 2 boxes of paper I have to finish today, have some laundry and maybe I will toddle over to the farmers market today to see what they have and drop off the 12 egg cartons I have to my farm friend.


Hope you are all starting your week off nicely!

Hello Everyone.

I am on the exercise bike. It is 5:36 am and I have about 4 min to go.

I didnt work out once last week and had a scoop of ice cream everyday! Needless to say the scales are up...so now back to reality. I ate on plan yesterday,and had a 2 lb loss on the scales this morning. I have 6 more lbs to go to get back to my pre-vacation week.

Please say a prayer for my DH. He has heard he is going back to some drama at work, they seem to be cleaning house. Not a good feeling when you are coming back from vacation.

I will be back later to post more. Time to hit the shower.

Hello Everyone....posting from wk. gonna be short

Sorry for being MIA. I know most of you follow me on FB so you get a little bit about the goings on from there.
Yes, Cindy, my SIL did very well. It took her about 13 days to go poo. That was the biggest hurdle she had. Now just the pain which is easing up. The cancer was contained in the kidney and no further treatment required. God is good!
We went to the water park the first part of July. Kids, gbabes, two bros a friend of Sam's and her two girls. We had a great time.
Garden is doing well but no tomatos yet, very nice plants tho. Got a few pumpkins, peppers and cukes.
Going with my other SIL Pia on a road trip leaving on this Friday to Denver. Taking Michael's dog to his daughter's to live. Pia is moving to the south of France to be with her momma for a few years. Great place to visit for me I suppose. Coming back on Sunday. I will be beat for sure.Job is ok. Not very challenging, kind of boring really. But hey, I have a job and good benefits. Only 4 1/2 years to go!The arm that broke healed nicely, I think but the thumb and hand hurt like heck. Must of pulled something in there..don't know. I do have an ortho appt on Aug 23rd. We shall see.SUSIE..good luck on the new position. Hope all goes well. Get back on the wagon sweet cheeks!HAPPY...glad you sold the boat. Yeah! Tell DH to just rent a boat for a day. No more than he would use it, it would be cheaper than the upkeep, storing etc of buying a boat. SHAD...you should have an all new house now with all the renos you have done. Slow down sister.CEEG...don't blame you for staying out of the nephew's BS. Just stress on you.LAURA...good to hear you are still doing your exercising. I still am not. hahahahahahahaha

Good morning chicks,


Already on the bike at 5:30 Susie - what a trooper! It is a bummer that you have to totally stay on top of things for the rest of your life with eating and exercise. I am tired of dealing with it at the moment so I am eating clean and maintaining and every day aware that my excess weight is causing me most of my problems. I am sorry to hear about DH. That's how my life turned topsy turvy - we went to Las Vegas for my 50th birthday and when I got home there was an urgent phone message from my boss's boss - Call as SOON as you get in. Found out the company had been bought out while I was gone (a secret surprise to all on our end) and my job was going away as they were closing the office. So began 8 years of stress which probably caused most of my excess stress body fat that is still with me today. A year of frantic job searching and 7 miserable years in Memphis. But unfortunately it is a common story today with everyone living under the dreaded sword of uncertainty on the job front. I hope he can make it unscathed. When do you start your new position - soon?


Was a busy week for me. I went to the chiropractor for the first time. She was nice enough. The 2 days afterwards I was hurting so badly I questioned my sanity. Then everything eased up. The constant pressure of my upper back pain noticeably diminished. But then I noticed if I was sitting in a chair, hands on chair arms - my hands started to get tingly and go numb. It happened once with my feet, several times with my hands. I also noticed a weakness in my legs that was reminiscent of when I went to that quack chiropractor in Memphis who messed me up so badly. The last 4 days it was difficult at times walking - I had moments of unsteadiness which was unsettling. This lady here is not a quack - I have an appointment today and will discuss it it with her. We went up north on Saturday to the berry farms but I had to buy some pre-picked as I could not handle standing in the fields. I also saved lots of money by not buying 15 pounds of berries when I only needed about a pound each of blueberries and raspberries. I missed the end of strawberry season Found a farm next to a new winery and DH went to take pictures of the sunflowers yesterday. He talked to the farmer and it's a pick your own place. He picked me up and we went back and I got kale, a cabbage, a large zucchini the size of my lower arm, some green beans and cucumbers. He also had some beautiful red and yukon gold potatoes. I had never before dug up fresh potatoes. So DH went and did it. The food was cheap too - I got all of that for $10. DH and the farmer got to talking - DH sent him some pictures of the gladiolas and zinnias the guy had planted as well as sunflowers. The farmer showed them to his family and was really pleased with the pictures. He is part owner/investor in the winery and said he'd be glad to display DH's framed pictures. I also got my frozen wild caught Alaskan fish this week so we have plenty of good things to eat. And I have a few peaches left. Made DH a dessert of fresh chilled peach slices with some raspberries and a drizzle of Amaretto agave syrup and he loved it.


I decided not to leave bingo - I do enjoy the people. My partner was very happy to hear that. I will only stay as long as he does. Nothing much of interest going on. We have 3 baby fawns from 2 moms. The baby turkeys are growing up. My garden is so so - 2 bell peppers otherwise they are duds. The tomatoes are slow to blossom will be a late season for them. I got some compost for the cucumbers because I cannot find low nitrogen fertilizer to save my soul. And my yellow crookneck squash started out good and fizzled quickly. But the flowers - potted on the deck and the landscaping look gorgeous this year. August is just around the corner - that means busy time to prepare before the weather turns cold and it does quickly up here. We have about 6 weeks of good outside working weather before it's chilly mornings and nights and the warmest part of the day is from about 11am to 4pm.


Anyway I have to get ready for the chiropractor and a follow up appointment with the physical therapist I DO NOT LIKE. Hope you are all doing well. Time to check in ladies.

Taking a quick break to check in. Still super busy at work. The timing of all these projects is crummy – all falling at the same time. It’s feasible to spread things out, and I’ve hinted at it in the past (same projects come up each year), but it won’t be done. Especially since I’m the only one that’s buried right now…Oh yeah, loving the job.


I scheduled 1.5 of my two summer days in August and need to schedule some vacation time. I want to take more time off, just don’t know what I want to actually do with my time off. Taking a weekend with bf isn't going to happen - we can barely tolerate each other at this point. My one friend that I like to travel with started a new job, so she can't take time off right now. If I bite the bullet and schedule my foot surgery, I will certainly know how some of my vacation time will be used. I’m procrastinating on that because the idea of being off my feet for 6 weeks is daunting.


Worked out twice last week. Only once this week so far. I don't get up early enough to do more than 25 min. or so of exercise in the AM. Yesterday was only 15 min. Better than nothing.


Susie – Did you start the new job today? I hope you like it. You’ve been transitioning into it, so I suppose you have a bit of a feel for it already. I hope the drama at your DH’s work has died down and he wasn’t part of the house cleaning!


Happy – What did the chiro say about the tingling and numbness? Your DH takes lovely photos, so I’m not surprised someone’s displaying them! Sounds like you might need to wear a bathing cap in the pool. Awesome, right? LOL.


Annie – Great outcome from your SIL Cindy’s surgery! What a relief. A job with good benefits is good enough, especially when you’re targeting less than 5 years until retirement! Safe travels on your whirlwind trip to/from Denver.


Hellos to Ceejay and Shad!


TTFN.

Good morning ladies,

Gads I don't know about this chiropractor thing. My upper back feels immensely better but now I am having problems with my lower back. It's like it "woke up" all kinds of things. Muscles are tight and sore. The chiropractor took my feedback into consideration and worked on different things. I just want to feel decent for a while. Tired of massive hurting all the time. It gets to you after a while. I am moving - doing swimming, am walking and meeting my goal that my Fitbit sets for me. Far shy of 10,000 steps but moving much more than I would before. And I can't stand the rubber band on my hand 24 x 7 so I take it off for a while or when washing dishes or swimming in a salt water pool so I do miss out on recording some steps. Life is busy, the weather is nice, I am sad to see it August already. this a really a turn up the hustle month - I NEED to go through things in the garage and purge although I think DH has been secretly doing that for quite a while as I notice bare spots and "mystery" black garbage bags in the trash...

Laura bummer that you can't figure out how to spend your vacation time. That was NEVER a problem for me I'm also sorry to hear that you and BF are having "a moment". I can totally relate girl Hope it passes. As for your foot - I know how you can feel overwhelmed by the idea of no weight bearing for 6 weeks but the sooner you do it, then it's over and done with and doesn't get worse. I can imagine you don't want to waste precious warm weather time off but then again, I scheduled my knee surgery for September because I was really afraid of slipping and causing greater injury when it was winter. And if you are home (I take it you have to take FMLA or something) be home when it's nice and you can sit in the 3 season room and enjoy it and have an excuse NOT to do yardwork Also non weight bearing does not mean bedridden. You can get a knee scooter or use a walker (just dont step on the foot) or use a rollator (rolling walker) that you can sit on a set and push yourself backwards - or if you have an office chair at home with wheels. You can learn how to transfer yourself so you are not using the foot to get to the bathroom and around the house. Fortunately you can get around on the main floor for the most part. It's not as bad as you think it will be and you will adjust quickly. I once broke my leg at work - had a ankle to thigh cast and had to deal with the knee surgery so I can say with confidence you will figure out a way to make it work. Also didn't Annie have foot surgery too? I have a friend who blew out his new knee replacement because he needed ankle surgery and was afraid so he kept putting it off until he had much bigger problems. Wish you luck with that...

Ah yes it's August 1 - does this mean you say goodbye to the guy who doesn't appreciate good work? HOpe you are liking the new job Susie! Is DH ok on his job?

I agree Annie with Laura - since you only have a few years to go, put your head down and just skate through the time. Better a bit bored than living under stress of always possibly losing the job. And save, save, save every penny you can. Who knows what the next few years will bring in this crazy world.

Hope the rest of you are doing ok. I have to get some laundry flipped and some lunch in me before I run off to yoga. Then it's a long night at bingo - my partner is sick, I convinced him to stay home and not infect us all so I will be super busy. Wish I wasn't

Morning all,
Looks like another perfect if cool day down here as winter hits hard this year. Still I will take it over snow and ice.
It's been so cool at night that I'm finding the tomatoes are not ripening as quickly as normal and the second crop of beans is taking its time to sprout out of the ground. Even the second lot of corn is slow this year. However the potatoes are sprouting and dog is not lying on them and the shallots anymore. But sleeping at night is great. Snuggle under the doona and just drift off. What with that and the lavender scent on the linen I am back to sleeping 6-7 hours and it feels good. Mind you the rush to the little room first thing is somewhat painful.
Renovations on the house are coming along slowly. DS2 is very busy with his job and his own places so I'm a bit on the back burner right now. I don't mind too much and the painting is going ahead, the garden is coming along and things are thriving. I'm also eating better and have lost another 2kg (4.4lbs) since my trip to the dietician at the end of June. It isn't easy and as I age I find things I used to be able to eat are now sitting heavily in the gut and causing some problems here and there. Some things are not pleasant so I won't go into detail.
This month is August, darn it. It's a heavy month financially for me, what with car insurance, car registration, council rates, utility bills and the normal credit card payments. So I am being very frugal with the money at the moment. And then of course I am still having the problems with installing the new NBN service or lack thereof. Corporations, without doubt, are what rules this country. Forget the bigoted misogynistic politicians and their antics. Society is degenerating at a lightning fast speed. Better not complain, some one will be scanning the web to look for words - big brother is watching.

Happy - I'm pleased that the upper back is responding to treatment. Such a pity it has caused havoc further down the spine but I've heard this happen before. And it is good that you are upping your movement too. It can only be good to get those muscles moving. I've been better since I have had to take the dog for a walk. Must say it has helped the ankles a lot and also my mind has woken up to interpreting intelligent dog thoughts - such as there is a cat over there, think I will make a run for it and drag grandma along with me. His sense of smell and sight is far better than mine and his 40kg is all muscle strength and bone. I have to keep on my toes to outdo him in the control stakes. I hope DH is not getting rid of too many treasures of yours. I can understand the frustration of seeing boxes packed up for years, but if the stuff belongs to you then he shouldn't be doing the sorting. I've been getting rid of stuff here too. A lot of my friends are downsizing to smaller places, less land, and less stuff. I don't want to be in one of the 'over 50's resorts' where you are so close to the neighbours you can practically hear them snoring. I like my small house and my block of land even though it is looking somewhat untidy at the moment, but there are things I don't need, don't use, and no longer want so I am slowly moving it along. Unfortunately so much of it is not useful in today's world that it will be going to the dump although it is perfectly good. The kids won't want it and some of it is personal to my tastes etc.

Laura - Sorry to hear that your relationship is not hitting happy times right now. Happens frequently enough I guess. You need to schedule that foot surgery asap. The sooner it's done, the sooner you get back to normal and can plan some travel to places unseen. Don't know why it is that all projects get scheduled for the same time and the schedule is tight. Just seems to emphasise the gap between the management and the workers, or maybe that's why they do it. Power!

Annie - a job is a job until something better comes along. And I agree with both Laura and Happy - take it one day at a time and save frantically for that retirement. It costs more than you estimate to do nothing. Yes the renovations are coming along, but slowly. I don't rush things too much these days. Painting will begin in the living areas shortly and I need to source some wardrobe furniture for the new room and a bed etc. The house is 30 years old and showing some age, but now I am feeling better again things can move along. Have a good time on your road trip, drive safe and enjoy the time away. Sad that your SIL will be moving countries but she needs to heal in her own way. Sorry to hear that the arm and hand are still sore, but that seems to happen as we grow older.

Susie - I hope by now that DH's work has been sorted out. So much misery in the work force these days. I don't know what it will take to wake up the politicians to the fact that the peasants are beginning to revolt. We need to work, we need to earn a reasonable living. I don't see the point in having so much money that you won't get to spend it all in your lifetime. And then get tax relief on top of that as well. Stimulate the economy - well it doesn't seem to work so well over here.
I've been eating ice cream too. But I find that it is bread and starch that cause most of my problems and as long as the ice cream is limited, then it doesn't make much difference to my weight loss and general wellbeing.

Ceejay - How's things going with the BIL and his treatments? Hope you and the nephew have got things sorted again.

Okay, I am off. The rubbish truck has just been which means it is now after 7am, the sky is cloudless and there is a lot of things to do today while DOG is not here. Cat is sleeping the day away in the middle of my bed and the living room floor has dog footprints all over it. Time to get up and at it. The weekend is almost here for the workers amongst us.

Hello ladies,

If you saw my Facebook post my cousin passed away. This was the one who was a policeman, was hit head on while doing a traffic stop by a guy in a stolen rental truck, tossed 20 feet into the air and came down like a rag doll. He was forever broken in ways that would never mend. And they never caught the [email protected] that did it. That started a life of multiple surgeries and constant pain. His spine became like a steel cage as things started popping. He got to the point when he was cold all the time from all the metal so they moved to Florida where they had lived for a few years earlier in life. He had words with his brother and my aunt defended the other brother so D had nothing to lose by moving but he required a lot of care and for his wife, it meant moving far away from her support system. They had about 8 good months in Florida before he took ill again - this time with 2 different kinds of cancers - leukemia one other that escapes my mind at the moment. It was a constant round of hospitals and treatments, all of which took everything out of him. But still he withstood it. He was a pretty tough guy - he drank like a fish to escape the constant pain and took prescription pain killers that would have knocked out a herd of horses we'd say. We all wondered how his liver managed to function at all. But his wife encouraged him to keep in treatment and although his life was filled with pain and setbacks, he soldiered on although he did start to become more depressed and vocal about having to endure the constant pain and sickness. He could never seem to catch a break, if he even remotely felt better, it was just a cruel temporary moment before he'd get hit with a major setback. They were able to get the one cancer into remission and began work on the leukemia. He was scheduled for a bone marrow transplant and the day before the start of treatment, the donor backed out. This made the whole family livid. But it turns out that they discovered the donor had a serious illness that did not present symptoms - they found it during the routine pre-procedure test. To have given him marrow from this person would have probably killed D. So again a search and they found a suitable donor 3 months later. Wiped out his immune system as is standard procedure. He got the marrow transplant and it's touch and go to see if it takes and you also have no immunity whatsoever and are vulnerable even to the staph bacteria and other things that routinely live on our skin and in our bodies that healthy people fend off without a thought. Mostly he was susceptible to pneumonia. And he caught it 3 times. Until it got to the point that he never really recovered from it. They'd stabilize him in the hospital, he'd go to the "clean" hotel to get strong enough to go home and within 2 days of a release date, would suffer a setback into the hospital again. About 4 months ago, he finally accepted that he was not going to win this battle and by now years of suffering had gotten to him. He just wanted to go home one last time to die. He never made it home - his heart and lungs were shot from years of heavy smoking and his body was weakened from all the chemicals, trauma and stress over the years. They told his wife he'd have about a week left, and he died 3 days later. He was only 60 years old but his life really ended about 20 years ago when he got hit by that truck. It was very sad. Several of my family - including me - had a natural talent for being crazy and funny but Dave was a master. We grew up together - his parents lived halfway down the street from us. As a kid he was always in trouble, always doing goofy stuff and we were always laughing. He was close to my sister as they were only 2 years apart - they went to high school together and he was her protector. He was tall, very good looking, personable and everyone - especially the girls - fawned all over him. The perfect person to watch over my shy, tiny sister. While they still lived in Chicago, we'd get together for the day when I'd come in to visit. Although he loved attention, he was not the kind to call or keep in touch. You had to keep up the contact. He had a bitter falling out with his brother and mother and he kept a grudge with an iron fist. When we'd get together you could count on at least half the time back and forth complaints about his family - he couldn't let go and was unwilling to make up even though his brother did reach out to him.

My one regret was that we too had an estrangement. After they moved, I'd occasionally hear from him on Facebook. I called him a few times but they lived in a different time zone and it was hard to catch him because when it was a good time I was busy getting dinner ready or eating and I never knew if he was having a bad day and was sick or sleepy himself. As good and as likeable and funny as he was, like many inner city police, he was a big bigot. And so was his wife. Some people will say that's the downside of being a cop - you see the worst in people and you tend to classify an entire group into one which is ironic because you look the other way at bigoted cops. He was also a massive fan of Trump and I called him out after he posted some pretty nasty and untrue stuff about President Obama. The Obamas have more class than this nasty, name calling, immature, disgusting wreck of a person who is supposed to be the leader of this country and his band of misfits. He didn't like it and unfriended me so we didn't talk after that. And of all the many things I hate about trump - one of the most intense is about how his very existence is dividing this county. I know many people who have said they either have ongoing arguments or have flat out stopped talking to former friends and family members over politics. Most of the time I don't say anything but I too get tired of always being the one to be quiet and listen to the vile things and insanity that comes out of people's mouths. Especially when they are opinions and not a shred of fact. So we didn't talk, but I did get updates from my mom and sister as to what was going on. A couple of weeks ago I asked my sister for his cell phone as he was able to do short texts but not long conversations because of his lungs. I meant to reach out but something always got in the way or it was not the right time or a million excuses. And I never did. But I always kept him in my thoughts and said prayers for his well being. And now he's gone and I have lost that opportunity and I do feel badly and a bit guilty about it. Most of my family has drifted apart. I pretty much only talk with my sister and Mom. There were some shenanigans with other family members including my brother's family and I just decided I didn't want to be a part of a one sided conversation that only occured when it was convenient for them. I haven't heard from my nieces in almost 10 years - they don't call my Mom either which I think is appalling. I don't care if I hear from them but it still means a lot with my Mom, their only living grandmother. I don't hear from my cousins either - a couple of them are morons - one in particular cheated us and spread lies after DH spend many years doing I.T. work supporting her business for a pittance of compensation because he was doing her a favor as a family member. I have 2 sets of cousins that live up here and the only one I talk to is an occasional conversation with the wife of my actual cousin. He told me when we moved up here that "I should look to meet people and make other friends and not think I was going to hang around with them every day". What kind of person says that??? Another cousin of mine was going through a serious illness and I said I'd say some prayers for her recovery and she told me "that's ok, I have lots of people praying for me through church - save your prayers for someone else who needs them..." This is supposed to be family?????? I don't know. The world is nuts. My other friend up here just got back in town - she just buried her 3rd husband and is my age. He also died after a lengthy bout with cancer. We will see her tomorrow when we go to a funeral service for a long time volunteer at the thrift shop. Frank was a gem of a person - a sweet man but while cancer took him too, he was at least close to 90 years old and had a good long life. So lots of death around me right now. It's been a long time so at least we've been fortunate in that regard.

I am still sore all over but it will just take a long time like with anything that happens to me. Was strenuous going swimming yesterday and I was tired when I got out but about halfway through the day I actually felt like everything got "pulled out" and it was a good feeling. This week is another busy week - I think the whole month will be that way. I am about at wits end with the thrift shop - the more I try to get away, the more I get sucked in. I started making a fuss this week at one point - said I do not want to be on call 7 x 24, don't need 32 emails a day telling me every nit pick thing that's going on and I NEED SOME TIME TO MYSELF. Go AWAY. I am trying to enter the sales for the month and realize that I am missing paperwork for 2 different days - people are careless about putting the paperwork in the right folder so once again, I start something and am unable to finish it. Gets frustrating... I don't want to go into town to get it.

Anyway enough of my crabbing... hope you are all having a good weekend.

Evening all,
Happy - so sorry to hear about your cousin although it was probably a great relief for him. The family will be devastated. I hope you can stay in touch with the family and try to mend some bridges. With the world the way it is, we need to keep our people close.
I'm also sorry to hear that you have the flu. It's almost at epidemic proportions here and so far 83 people have died of it in Queensland. My friends Chris and Tim have been passing it back and forth to each other for about 4 weeks now. So take yourself off to bed with headache and pain tablets and tell the thrift shop to p... off. Hope Eric is looking after you properly

Had another great day here today. And the dog turned up this morning when I wasn't expecting him. I thought DS2 was working night shift this week, but apparently they (being the bosses) changed that at short notice and also told him he was to go out to Stanthorpe on Wednesday/ Thursday to work so the dog is not only here, he is staying overnight as well.
The garden is growing slowly. It's been pretty cool over night lately so the tomatoes haven't been ripening quickly but the strawberries are doing okay. I've been eating the rocket and lettuce and spinach and the new lot of beans is up and growing. I've put in one garlic bulb to see what happens with those and also shallots and an onion that was sprouting in the cupboard. Anyway it's going along and when the fence is finished I can add some more plants and maybe some fruit trees. Talking of fruit trees, I got some cherries from the fruit shop the other day - they are from the States and they are delicious. We've been getting peaches and nectarines from the US as well but they are so hard it will take a month of Sundays to ripen them enough to eat them.

Okay, well that's about it. I'm taking the neighbour out for lunch tomorrow, she's been in Aus for 40 years but her accent is terrible and I only get one word in three. It will be an interesting time.
Cya