Hello!

I am alive and well...for the most part.

I have resolved myself that work will always be busy and people are always going to be demanding of my time, and I must quit trying to please everyone.

I am tired of being to tired after work to get done the things I need to do at home or even wish to do and enjoy it.

I hope I survive this year and DH's restlessness about being ready to retire. He really wants to be done now and is just making himself miserable which spills over on me.

I have a couple of medical issues going on. I seem to spend a lot of lunch hours in seeing my urologist and for the past 30 days I have been dealing with a sore hand.

January 19, I was putting a oversize box that wasnt heavy but awkward on a shelf in the garage and I felt and heard a popping sound in the middle of my hand along with instant pain. I thought I might have popped a blood vessel. I iced it, elevated it, took advil and did that off an on for the last 4 weeks. It was better but still swollen and quite sore.

Last Monday I saw my orthopedic doctor, who did an cray, and is sending me to a hand surgeon. I actually have a juncture tendon tear. I see the hand surgeon this Wednesday

I feel like one hot mess!

It is time to get off this recumbent bike and hit the shower and get ready for work.

I will check back later to see what the rest of you are up to.

Happy Monday....grateful for no ER visits or sickies. Just the normal sickies. lol

I made the yummiest pulled pork bbq yesterday. It went over well. Crockpotted the pork then added bbq sauce after I pulled it. Back in the crockpot for an hour. We played 4 games of cards. Bro and SIL came over to enjoy the meal and cards. I did get two loads of laundry done in the process of it all. Also got my bathroom scoured and cleaned.

Only 25 days til spring, sorry shaddie, but I cannot wait and only 82 days till sibling vacation. I hope we all like each other by the end of the week. haha. My bro Chuck from St. L will be the one that will hard to deal with. Eddie, Cindy, Curtis and I have been discussing it and have decided to just get quiet and not argue back or get to riled up over his nonsense. lol

I got my review here at work last week. Believe it or not it went well and got a very nice score. I do get a raise this year even tho it won't be a year here at WF Advisors til May. 5 1/2 years at WF. SO that is a plus. Only about 2%, not evenHappy Monday....grateful for no ER visits or sickies. Just the normal sickies. lol

I made the yummiest pulled pork bbq yesterday. It went over well. Crockpotted the pork then added bbq sauce after I pulled it. Back in the crockpot for an hour. We played 4 games of cards. Bro and SIL came over to enjoy the meal and cards. I did get two loads of laundry done in the process of it all. Also got my bathroom scoured and cleaned.

Only 25 days til spring, sorry shaddie, but I cannot wait and only 82 days till sibling vacation. I hope we all like each other by the end of the week. haha. My bro Chuck from St. L will be the one that will hard to deal with. Eddie, Cindy, Curtis and I have been discussing it and have decided to just get quiet and not argue back or get to riled up over his nonsense. lol

I got my review here at work last week. Believe it or not it went well and got a very nice score. I do get a raise this year even tho it won't be a year here at WF Advisors til May. 5 1/2 years at WF. SO that is a plus. Only about 2%, not even the cost of living but I guess I should be grateful that.

Got are taxes filed and submitted. We actually get a refund. Should be here by this Friday. We won't here back on the 2017 IRS audit until March 28, or at least that is what the letter said. Probably should save the refund in case they jab us one.

SUSIE...good grief I hope you get your hand thing resolved. That is awful to have a nagging pain all the time. Yes, work seem always to be crazy in one form or another.

CEEG...carbs are tough till you quit eating them for a while. Once you quit eating them so much you actually do quit craving them. You just have to be stronger than the donut and garbage and want to be healthier more. Listen to me. hahaha

SHADDIE...in answer to your question...next is cronovirus. Hmm, fires and viruses. End times? Can't be floods, God promised no more floods.

HAPPY...how is DH feeling? How are you feeling with the implants? I am sure the kitties are entertaining you.

LAURA...How is your foot coming along? Are you and BF ok? Seems like a bit ago he was annoying you a little.

That is about it for me.

Afternoon all. Quiet here. The boss is working from home today and the admin is taking a vacation day, so it's just two of us.

Nothing exciting to report on my end. I’ve ordered a few things for myself online over the past few weeks when I caught some good sales. New down jacket that’s knee length. It’s a nice in-between coat – I have a very long down coat I wear when it’s super cold and a short jacket that I wear when it’s mild. I also ordered some winter ankle boots, but they’re a bit clunky feeling and looking. Need to try them on again and make a decision to keep or return. Also bought a couple elbow sleeve t-shirts that’ll be good for spring/summer. Last thing was another purse that’s the exact same brand, style, and color as my current one, which is starting to show a bit of wear.

My weekend was uneventful. I had a hair appointment on Saturday - no drastic changes. Dropped off some donations to the thrift shop afterwards, then returned a couple things to the library, and also got the car washed. It was sunny and mild, so after I got home I put on my rubber boots and pruned a couple of the shrubs in the front.

I filed my taxes on Sunday. Had to pay the Feds, but it’s a good thing I adjusted my withholding a few months ago or I would have owed more. Getting a refund from the state.

I’m weaning myself off the boot and the last time I wore it was last Tuesday. Walking in that darn boot finally took its toll on my back and for about a week I’ve had pain in my lower left back that I think is inflammation in the sacro-iliac joint. I’ve had sciatic pain on that side in the past, but this feels different because I don’t get any pain down my leg. Anyway, the pain’s been somewhat intermittent, but it’s worse when/after I walk. I think it’s due to having a lot of my weight on my left side for so long. This morning I was trying to put more weight on my right side and now my right foot (surgery foot) is hurting a bit. Sigh. I don’t want to go back to the boot right now, so I’ll try to stay off the foot, starting with taking a taxi to the train after work today. As for the SI pain… I wonder if some type of exercise/stretches will help this, and/or icing and meds to get the inflammation down, or maybe a chiropractor? Do I need a physician referral so it’s covered by insurance?? So many questions.

Another thing going on with me medically is that I’ve had intermittent swelling under my chin that I think has to do with excess sinus drainage I’ve had for a week or so. When I first saw it, I thought I was getting a(nother) double chin, lol. But I've also had other symptoms like some pain a month ago in the bone behind one of my ears (went away) and pressure in my ears. I decided to go to immediate care yesterday morning, but that was sort of a waste – my vitals were fine and the doctor didn’t feel any swelling of my lymph nodes or any other problems. He suggested ibuprofen and warm compresses and Claritin. And to see my physician if I wanted to get an ultrasound to confirm nothing bad's going on. I don’t feel like my allergies are in overdrive or anything, but one thing that was going on last week was that a woman that works near our group has suddenly started wearing a ton of perfume, and it’s been really strong. Ugh. I wonder if having to breathe that in all day and all week would cause this reaction. Anyway, enough rambling about this. I guess I should make an appointment with my doctor about the neck swelling and the back pain.

~~ On to personals.~~

Annie – I’m glad the PTV doesn’t affect your vision, but it’s scary to think it could lead to a retinal tear. Just what you need right now – NOT! This growing old stuff isn’t for sissies!! At least the acupuncture is helping with the stress and there hasn't been anymore ER visits and illnesses. How was the Hedgehog movie? I have a couple dvds from the library and had to renew them because I didn’t watch them yet… Good job on the KETO!! I’m sure it’s motivating when you actually feel better as a result. Since we’re counting…only 6 days until DST begins. Good job on the good review. Too bad it doesn’t translate into a better raise... At my employer, we all get the same % now, and this year it's 2.5%. But we also get incentive payouts based on our job grade and how well the company does each year. Very grateful for that. Maybe I need to hunt down and give a big thank you to the headhunter that helped me get this job so many years ago. Heaven knows *I* wasn’t focused on things like a company having a pension and incentive plans when I was job hunting back then…. Things with bf are no better or worse.

Ceejay – I hope you perked up a bit last week. I’m sure the family problems don’t help. I think you need to plan something special for yourself. Did you ever figure out who you saw in the gym?

Shad – As I type, our financial markets are diving because of this coronavirus stuff. Things are going to be a mess until its run its course. Or a shot becomes available.

Susie – Sorry that work is leaving you too tired to do anything afterwards. I can sympathize because I know I leave a lot of stuff to get done on the weekend, especially the stuff that takes some focus, like filing my taxes! No way am I going to tackle that after working all day. That said, it's good that you do your exercise in the AM! Sorry to hear about your hand injury!! I wonder if that’s something that will eventually heal, or if it requires surgical repair. Keep us posted! Re your husband being restless and antsy for retirement I hope the year goes quickly! When he’s making himself and you miserable, just tell yourself how nice it’ll be when he's home and has time to do some of the stuff you’re too tired to do now! Does he have a countdown calendar going?

Happy – How are you and dh and those kitties??

Okay, that’s enough for now, so I’ll get this posted. Hugs!

Yeah for me! I got out of work on time yesterday.

Didnt get it all done but oh well.

I logged all my food in MFP yesterday, just like the old days, where I log it before I eat it, it helps me to see where I am at with the calories and helps me make choices especially if I am feeling like a snack.

I am on the recumbent bike again this morning. It is hard to put my feet on the floor sometimes but ok once I do, it gets me going and I feel so much better all day.

Anne: your card game night sounds like fun. I love to play cards and board games. I dont get to do much of it now. I want to be your neighbor so I can come over and play cards!

Really looking forward to seeing you and all those coming with you to Kings Island this spring.

Whooo hooo for the refund on the taxes and the raise!

Laura: it sounds like you got a lot of nice things on your shopping splurge and getting them on sale is even nicer.

I remember when I wore a boot that time my foot was giving me issues, it messed with my back too. It was summer time for me so I was able to wear a wedge sandal that pur me even when walking in the boot and it made a big difference.

It is nice you found a glass top go over your table so you can enjoy both using it and looking at the pretty table top.

Hello to Happy, Shad and Ceejay.

Hey hey, Two days in a row. WHATT????

LAURA...I love on-line shopping. Just hate to go to stores. Too many people and crowds for my liking plus I have better luck on line, can put it in my cart, think about it, then delete it. hahaha Oh I remember the boot stage very well. I was in it for 12 long weeks after ankle surgery. Not fun. Allergies are playing havoc on C right now. He thought he was coming down with a cold, I told him it was his allergies and quit being a baby. haha. Hope you get the chin thing figured out. Sounds miserable.

SUSIE...I, too, am looking forward to KI. Hope we luck out on the weather. I always do better if I track before I eat especially before going to a restaurant. I look up their menu to see what looks good and within my limits. Good on you.

Not much going on around here either. Just this cold, blowy, windy rain thing and snow tomorrow. Bleh. 1-3" here in Indy 3-5" north of Indy. Probably won't be too bad but is not supposed to start until tomorrow morning, go all day then be a bear of a drive home.

I am doing great on my water consumption. Probably around 75 ounces a day. Not enough but way way better than before. I can tell a difference. Skin is not so dry and I get up to potty more at night. Who knew? haha. Friday is weigh in day. Hope to be down at least 2 or 3 lbs. We only weigh every two weeks for our official WI, but I usually get on the scale intermittently. I can't stand the suspension.

Best post and get on with it. HELLO to SHADDIE, HAPPY, and CEEG.

I cant believe it is only Wednesday. I feel I have done enough this week for it to be Friday.

DH had his annual physical yesterday. We havent gotten blood work results but his doctor thought he was doing well. That was good to hear.

I went with DH to his appointment and then I worked from home. I get so much further in my work when I work from home.

It is because I dont get distracted. At work people talking all around and stopping buy my cube needing something.

When they cant walk over they dont seem to need so much.

My nieces have had choir recitals Monday night and Tuesday nights this week. Tonight I dont have anywhere to go once I get home from work. I might have time to sit and read! I am looking forward to a night in my sweats and on the couch.

Annie: good job with the water and best of luck at the upcoming weighin.

I am hoping we dont get to much snow on Thursday. If so we will cancel TOPS and I need to go!I have to have that weekly accountability.

Do you know the dates yet for the KI trip?

Hello to the rest of the gang.

My bike workout has 5 more min then time to get ready for work. I am going pretty casual today, a sweater and corduroy pants. I have my hand surgeon appointment this morning before going into work.

Can't believe how long it has been since I posted. Sorry to be so lax or lazy or whatever.
Been busy with paint and then the seniors club I joined which seems to lurch from crisis to crisis and also the neighbour over the road who is not well - had to get an ambulance to take her to hospital during the weekend and she just doesn't seem to be herself yet. No one seems able to work out what is wrong with her and it isn't coronavirus either. Personally I think she is having a panic attack because her whole family appears to be at war with her and with each other and are happy to visit her if they want something - usually money - but not prepared to do anything for her if she requires help, which she could have done with this week. Not even read a letter for her since her grasp on the English language both spoken and read is not great. This of course is her own fault since she insists on speaking her language to all her friends and doesn't read newspapers or books in English. Only been here 42 years.
Other than that I have been out and about going to coffee and cake mornings and paying bills. February is a bad month for me as far as bills go. This month I had car rego, power bill, phone bill, rates bill, and house insurance as well as the usual credit card bill. Not much left in the kitty and the budget is broke for this month at least. I will have to see if I can shift some of the bigger bills to throughout the year instead of them all coming at once. Be easier if I could pay some of them monthly, but some of these wonderfully philanthropic multinational companies put an extra charge (for admin fees) onto their monthly accounts. Needless to say it is all done by direct debit and therefore has little impact on the staff workload but that's how they work. Don't like it - find another insurance company or whatever. Government departments don't help either.

Susie - hope the hand man can help with the tendon. My friend Chris had problems with tendons due to the steroids she had to take to combat the Churg-Strauss syndrome she has. It broke (practically dissolved) up two of the main tendons in the hand and she had problems moving the fingers. The doctors operated to split the remaining two tendons in her hand and she now has the use of the hand again. She had to learn to write left handed and do a lot of things with the left hand before the right got fixed and she could use it again.
Glad to hear you are getting out of work on time this week. Maybe you could organise a work from home day one day a week or something to help you catch up.
Good luck at the TOPS meeting.

Annie - don't apologise for wanting Spring to come. We are hanging out for Autumn here - had a truly horrific summer and the bugs and flies have arrived in their thousands now to eat what is left in the garden (not much) I love the winters over here, but summer is a nightmare to be endured - especially this one with drought fires, floods, storms, cyclones and vermin. Not to mention the decimation of the native wildlife.
Congratulations on the work review and raise. Any little bit is helpful these days. Wages are stagnating here. Shops are going broke. There is no money to spend on good wholesome food for a lot of people who are living on junk. You will notice there is no recession in the Breweries, McDonalds, Banks, or luxury lifestyles for the rich and famous.

Laura - Taxes are one thing I don't miss now I am retired. My income is well below the tax threshold. Well done on a refund.
As for the pain in your back, I have osteoarthritis in the L2 and L3 vertebra at the base of the spine. Some days it just hurts, I also seem to have an occasional problem with muscles spasming in the lower back. The doctor put me on anti-inflammatories and while that helped the pain, something in the medication did my head in. I was explaining this to the pharmacist next door to the doctor and she recommended I try Voltaren 25 which I did. Worked a treat, especially on the muscle spasms and didn't affect the rest of what's left of my brain. The osteo comes and goes and I learn to put up with it.

That's about it for today, cya

Hi ladies,

Had the 2 front implants put in - well the screws at least - 2 days ago. It was a rough ride. Lots of intense pain. I'd put it at bunion surgery level. The extractions were much easier and they say it should be the opposite.

We are going to pick up our new car today. DH wants to get there first thing so that we don't have to spend all day there - financing takes FOREVER. He wanted to be there when they open and it's a 90 minute drive up there. I told him he's crazy, I'm not getting up at 5am to go get a car. So whoo hoo, I got to get up at 6:30. Trying to gulp my coffee quickly and take a shower so no time to post right now and the truck is far too shaky to be able to text while riding. Will try and get back here later to catch up.

TGIF! I am up and on the bike this morning. I took yesterday morning. But this morning my body said move.

We are having winter here, it snowed Wednesday night and again last night and it is cold! Wearing a long coat sweater and leggings and knee height boots today. It is casual Friday.

Our schools were closed yesterday due to weather so TOPS was canceled. I still left work on time!

The weekend is cleaning house, paying bills, DH is taking the car for a oil change and doing grocery shopping.

My niece Cailyn is coming home for the weekend. We are taking her to dinner tonight so we can spend some time with her.

Update from the hand appointment. It seems what I tore is the tendon cushion on the left hand on the left side of the tendon. These cushions when stabilized tend to glue themselves back into place. So I have a splint, custom made, that goes over my forefinger, middle finger and ring finger, that elevates the middle finger a bit on my hand. I can take it off to shower and that is it.

I wear it for 30 days and go back to see how things are going.

First day was rough, didnt didnt do to bad with it yesterday. I can type pretty well with it. Hard to write pretty, but I can write, it is slow going.

Shad: Our car insurance, life insurance, are paid quarterly, and I have two checking accounts. I break down the cost of those quarterly expenses per month and put that in the 2nd checking account and then when the bill comes quarterly, the money is there and I dont feel like I need sell an organ for it! Lol

Happy, how exciting a new shiny car!

Ouch on the implants....how much more before you are finished with those?

Time to shower and get ready for work. I did 40 min on the bike and 7.3 miles. Thanks for riding along!

Sorry I've been missing. I"ve been helping sis with bil. He took himself off life support and hospice was set up at home. He passed away last night around midnight. We are all in shock, but knew it was coming. If that makes any sense.
I'll try to be more vigilent in getting back here this week.

Morning everyone. Happy Leap Year Day.

Ceejay - My sympathies to you and your sister and the rest of your family on the passing of your BIL. I'm sure there will be much grieving, but I hope it's a comfort to his loved ones that he's no longer in pain and struggling like he was.

Susie - Are you business formal or business casual the rest of the week? Our company's been jeans for probably two years now. You definitely seem to like dressing up for work while I don't miss dressing up at all. I do still have to dress up a bit for some meetings with 3rd parties, and I have one suit, several pairs of dress pants, and some flats when needed. Otherwise I wear jeans every day and - since the surgery - sneakers. And of course I often wish I could trade in the jeans for sweats or yoga pants, LOL. But that's where the working from home would come in...not at that point yet. == I'm glad your hand can heal with the use of a splint/brace. It's probably a PITA to take it on and off to wash your hands and shower, but sure is preferable to surgery!! == Hope you enjoyed dinner with your niece last night.

Happy - I hope the pain is bearable now, and that your bone is growing around those posts and getting them settled nice and solid. == How is the new car? So you each had to drive back home on your own? We had to do that last year from a little bit of a distance. It was a couple weeks after we'd replaced another vehicle, so we were both driving vehicles we weren't familiar with and it made me a bit anxious. Driving these days is a bit anxiety-inducing anyway because there are so many distracted drivers...

Shad - My first quarter of the year has more bills hitting that at other times - homeowners insurance, umbrella insurance, and the first property tax installment. I sort of miss the good old days when the county could never seem to get the tax bill out on time, LOL. The insurance company was willing to split their bills so the payment didn't have to come all at once. They used to charge a small fee to do that for the auto insurance, so it's nice to pay quarterly instead of semi-annually. They just dropped the fees, so it's even nicer now.

Annie - Good on the water. I have to make a conscious effort to drink more of it in the winter. I back off of it because I'm in the habit of putting ice in my water bottle, but find I actually drink more when the water's not quite so cold. And this water bottle really keeps the water cold, so ice isn't really necessary in the winter.

~~~~
On Tuesday night bf and I went to the store that I'd ordered my boots from. Bf wanted to check out a sale (I'd given him a gift card for Christmas). I took my boots with me and the store had the identical ones in a half size smaller, so I tried those on to see how they felt. I ended up keeping the size I had. It was good to have the comparison though. My right foot is a bit of a problem now because of the bunion, and it's probably a bit large now in thickness/depth (not length) because of the surgery.

I woke up in the middle of the night (Wed. AM) because I couldn't get comfortable with my back bothering me. When I got out of bed and walked to the living room, I started having horrible pain from my lower back to all the way down my leg. (So that confirmed to me it was sciatica and maybe not the sacro-iliac joint.) It was really awful, surprising how awful it was - I just couldn't get comfortable at all. That nerve running along my leg was super angry I guess. I finally just sat on the sofa leaning with no weight on that side and it finally calmed down to a bearable level. I stayed home from work and took ibuprofen and iced and stretched, but it was still not feeling all that great by bedtime. I slept on my side all night and kept up with the ibuprofen the following day, but I stayed home from work again.

I didn't think my doctor could really do much because this is something you just have to wait for it to die down, but I did phone late Thursday night to at least leave a message and was surprised to get an answer (must be a central call center) and was able to make an appointment for Friday afternoon (yesterday, which I'd had scheduled as vacation) with another doctor in the group. Well, not a doctor but a nurse practitioner. I like her manner better than my doctor, who I've only seen once or twice and had doubts about...Anyway, she told me I was overdoing the ibuprofen and told me to space out the doses and to use tylenol in between. And to use heat, not ice. She ordered PT as well, saying I should strengthen my back. She said to continue the stretches and recommended yoga, but not Pilates right now. She said a chiropractor could be a good idea.

I felt halfway decent at the time I went to the doctor and was relieved to not be in pain and moving around okay. Later yesterday and today I feel like I have some residual soreness in the lower back and down the leg, but not awful. I'm sort of worried because I do have some very old scar tissue on the top of my right outer thigh - right where that nerve seems to run alongside the leg - and I wonder if that makes pressure on the nerve worse... I dunno, I just want this to fade away and get back to normal. Sure don't want this to be the new normal. Today I'll make sure to stretch and continue with the ibuprofen and the tylenol. I'll see if I can talk to my insurance today to find a PT place near home and get started on that.

Sorry for the long ramble/whine about my back! After my foot and back are healed enough, I've also decided to find a personal trainer to get me safely started back to fitness.


In other news, my SIL (who just lost her younger son) texted about her sister having heart surgery. I was unaware of the seriousness of H's medical issues, but she might need a heart transplant. H had surgery yesterday and is being moved to another hospital today, but not the one originally planned on. Apparently beds are hard to come by due to flu cases. Please keep H in your thoughts and prayers. My friend D is recovering well from her lumpectomy. She decided to have reconstructive surgery on both breasts so it was more involved. Happily, the samples from the lymph nodes came up clean, along with the margin areas. She will have radiation and at some point the rest of the reconstruction will be completed.

I think that's about it for me, so I'll sign off now. Have a good weekend everyone.

The weekend was a blur. Saturday I had a pedicure appointment at 10:45 am and my house needed a deeper cleaning this weekend in the kitchen and bathroom. So I got up at 6:30 and got them done by 9:30, had breakfast got a shower and headed for the pedicure.

I felt much happier when I got home and only needed to vacuum and swiffer the floors.

We went to dinner with friends Saturday evening, yesterday was church, a nap and paying bills and getting the home office desk cleared off.

Ceejay: I was sorry to hear the news of your brother-in-law passing. It is so very heartbreaking to loose a loved one. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Laura: there seems to be a lot of different dress codes at my work building.

I tend to be business casual Mon-Thusday and jeans on Friday as most do. But there have been mornings I get up and say, today is jeans and a sweater or nice pullover top.

I hope your back is feeling better and that you find a place close for PT. I have found that PT is really a good thing to do especially since you were wearing the boot and I am sure it got your alignment out of wack.

Praying for your friend D and for H.

Hello to the rest of the Wordlies....looking forward to seeing you all sometime this week on the thread.

Good March morning ladies,


Going to try and get in a proper post before DH gets back from his doctor's appointments.


Let's start with you first...


Ceejay - I was sorry to see that your BIL had passed away. Prayers to you and your family for comfort. At least his suffering is over. Cancer is a terrible thing. I know what you mean about being in shock - part of your mind knows what's going on but there's a small part that rallies against the obvious - hope remains that things might turn around and we're never fully prepared that they will pass on. Hope your sister will be ok.


Susie - I am amazed that you can maneuver the splint and type with your injured hand! Wow. Glad you realized that no matter what things will always be busy going forward and you just pace yourself and what gets done, gets done - you will NEVER catch up - just like housework! Spring is the craziest time of weather year for us - we had almost 50 degrees yesterday - March in like a Lamb, probably end it on 18 inches of a whopper of a snowstorm LOL. That's a really good idea about divvying up the money for the first quarter bill payments. We too have car & house insurance, property taxes, income taxes taking a hit on us first of the year too. I could count on an ugly fight somewhere in the first few months of the year about spending, particularly when I'd spend a lot on Christmas. I might have to adopt your method too. What with the stock market as uneasy as it is, we agreed to rein in the spending for a while anyway.


Shad - I took Voltaren once, it's ripped up my stomach - gave me the most horrid bend over stomach pains. I wanted to die. It's a good, strong medication - just too strong for me. I have started taking glucosamine for a few months now - I find it helps with the arthritis pain. I can just imagine the swarms of summer bugs invading you. I hope you get some relief as winter moves in and things calm down. Been a shaky several months for you down there. I had to smile at you joining the Senior Center - knowing you and knowing what I've seen at mine, I can't imagine you tolerating the nonsense for very long I hope since you are smart and strong you don't wind up being everyone's care takers.


Annie - did I miss something with weigh in? Have you joined a program or is it something you are doing at work? Good luck and good on yah for getting back in the grove again. Hope all the sickness has calmed down and life is a bit more quiet for you again. I'm glad the nurse gave you such great advice. I suppose when you hear about friends and family having serious medical issues, it puts things in perspective and we should be grateful our problems are small in comparison. I think it's a good idea to work with a trainer for a while. Things have been shifted on you and you might need a guided approach to getting back to your old self again. Spring is coming, we all breathe deep and swear to renewal!


Talking about renewal. I think I am at a low point on the "gee I'm a mess scale". But I am encouraged to get straight again. I am on the last day of antibiotics - glad because they have messed up my stomach big time. I thought it was because I was taking too many pain pills so I stopped that days ago. We went on a very long road trip yesterday and I was really nervous because I had to stop at every bathroom along the way. I was hungry but afraid to eat anything. My mouth is still very sore and raw feeling. I didn't wear my denture yesterday - hard plastic on the roof of my mouth is excruciating - like having very painful shoes on. We were with friends and my friend L didn't wear her partial either - we are both having issues getting dental appliances fitted - LOL. The tissue is also swollen so the partial doesn't fit right. No reason to get it adjusted right now, just have to wait it out. My face is sore from the work, it hurts to touch and blow my nose which of course runs constantly. This is no picnic but I hope it will be worth it. I have gained a couple of pounds due to the soft nature of the foods I have been consuming despite constant trips to the potty so I need to refocus on the diet again. We got the new car and went with friends yesterday for a truly (too) long drive - 10 hours all around the Lake Superior shoreline. We were within 75 miles from the Canadian border. It was a beautiful sunny day and almost 50 degrees which was wonderful. Still a lot of ice but not the piles of "ice jams" DH was hoping for along the shoreline where the waves create ice sculptures. 10 hours was too long of a drive - today my back and knees are hurting from sitting too long in one position. The new car is nice in some ways and not in others. The heat is not as good as it was in the truck - it blows differently so have to get used to it. I liked the deeper, higher seats in the truck - I think they were more comfortable. I was sitting in the back seat with my friend and just like in an airplane, the seating gets worse as your work your way from front to back. Most crossover style cars like ours now have 3rd row seating as a standard feature. We would never use it, will always be folded down to give us more cargo space but I can assure you that only the youngest and most agile of children would ever get in the 3rd row or tolerate the almost board like stiff seats back there. There are safety features and visuals which are nice as far as the technology goes. The ride is a bit noisier and rougher than the truck but that is like comparing apples and oranges so not a complaint, just something different to get used to. All the cameras are very nice for driving and backing up. And DH was very pleased with the gas mileage which is the primary reason he changed out cars.


Thursday is our 43rd wedding anniversary. We are going over to the Minneapolis area for a day trip to have lunch at PF Chang's (Asian restaurant) and maybe pick up some Portillo's Italian Sausage and beef to bring home for suppers on the weekend. There is nothing here to have a nice dinner this time of year as our town closes up and everyone gets a rest from the summer hustles. I am glad the weather is holding up, I hope my mouth and stomach heal up in 3 days time enough to enjoy our meal.


Bingo is going well - we get a small crowd of about 20 people each week. I am tired of doing it but will stick it out for the duration of my commitment - until mid May. DH enjoys it so that's good - he is a good help to me and it gets us out with other people. Nothing else really going on. Lots of talk about politics and what to do with the elections. I feel like I am playing a 3 dimensional chess game, strategically thinking out the best moves to topple the current "king of fools".


The kittens are driving us nuts. They are quite destructive, unlike their calm older sisters. They are clawing furniture, climbing up on EVERYTHING, knocking things down, chewing, getting into what they should now. They are only good when they are sleeping. I keep waiting for them to calm down but losing hope that they ever will. I told DH I'm not sure if they feed off each other for mischievousness. I went to bed at 9:30 the other night as I had to get up at 5:30 am for an early start to our road trip. I wake slowly and like to have time to enjoy my coffee and wake up in the morning rather than run around like a crazy. So I tried to go to sleep early and 5 minutes after I put my head on the pillow 3 of them started running at top speed from room to room. They bounded over the bed chasing each other, stuck me with their claws several times pouncing and had the heebie jeebies until 1:30 am. I didn't get much sleep at all. Now they are all sitting in the sun on their cat towers watching the birds. We have a male cardinal that is bashing himself on our large, upper windows - he thinks his reflection is a rival and he keeps hitting the windows which has the cats all crazy. DH left the new car in the driveway and we came out to find either door covered with bird droppings. He attacks the side mirrors on the car too which DH forgot about. But all this means spring is coming. Finally.


And with that I'd better get myself busy. Glad you are all doing well.


Laura - I hope you can find some comfort from the sciatica. That's the worst pain ever outside of an abscess I think. Can't get comfortable, no amount of shifting, heat, pain meds brings relief. Sometimes they have prescribed muscle relaxers but I don't think those help either. Just have to get the nerve "un-inflamed".

And last but not least, among other things trying hard to avoid getting sick - either the flu which is rampant here right now or that darned coronavirus.

Good morning girls,

Last out, first in today.

10 days post implants and my mouth is still sore and raw feeling. The roof of my mouth feels like I burnt it with hot pizza cheese. And my partial doesn't fit so I don't have front teeth. Going to the dentist today - it occured to me that the work they did on the implants could have changed the surface / landscape of the roof of my mouth so perhaps the partial needs to be relined. The dentist is an hour's drive away so trying to coordinate appointments with the dentist and the oral surgeon to check me - hoping no infection so that DH does not have to drive all over the place 2 days in a row.

Today is our 43 wedding anniversary. The years have truly flown. I can't remember being young and cute when I was a bride. Even saying the word BRIDE seems weird to me. We were supposed to go to Minneapolis to dinner but they are supposed to get high gusty winds and possibly frozen rain with snow so we decided to try for perhaps Sunday instead. When we were working, we often celebrated our anniversary on the weekend anyway so not doing it today is not such a big deal. I can't eat well anyhow. The implants were supposed to be less hassle than the tooth extraction but I don't think so. Perhaps because I had 4 teeth worked on instead of just one.

Hope you are all doing well. Onward with the day ...