Hello Everyone,


It sure has been a very interesting 2 weeks. I don't know about you all but I feel like these past two weeks have gone on forever and yet at the same time, so much is happening that time is flying. It is just such a strange time.


I am still working from home. They say we will go back on April 6 but I don't see it happening that way. It isn't to bad to work from home, the technology has made it very douable. My DH is still going into work and I hope that continues for them.


Our stores are doing better on stocking items and such but you can never be sure what will be there so when I go to the store, I tend to pick up things that can be stored for a bit. Our Govenor does a press conference daily at 2 p.m. or close to that. time and I make a point to take my laptop and work from the couch to hear what he has to say. I have always had a great respect for him and I still do. He is just a good man.


My laundry is all caught up and so is much of my regular house work. My big activity this weekend is to polish up all my boots and put them away for next year and start pulling out the heavy sweaters and put them away and go through the tubs of spring clothes and decide what to keep and what to give away, and then see what I need to buy; I am doing that with my shoes as well. If it stays nice weather outside, I would like to get the cars all swept out and ran through the car wash.


Last week we attended our church services on-line and will do that again this Sunday. I have been doing my Cardio drumming classes on line as well. Zoom is the new venue everyone is using for these types of things. I am doing great with my treadmill or bike workouts and now I plan to tranisition to walks while the weather is nice outside.

I like to come here and read what everyone is doing and thinking. I know that we see and get that as well on Facebook and things but there the whole world is on, here it seems we can say a little more and share a little more.


I'm thankful for your ladies.

Good morning ladies,

The house is quiet so far - 3 of 4 cats are sleeping but the lone one who is up is causing a ruckus. I can hear stirring in the loft area peppered with comments from DH "get OUT of there. NOOOOOOOO. Leave that alone. WHY do you have to keep digging into things????" The kittens are a handful - I had hoped they'd calm down when they got older but at this point of 6 months they are considered adult cats and I think their personalities are such that they are always going to be diggers, jumpers and troublemakers. :rolleyes:

We are supposed to get some rain this afternoon and it will be a wet soggy and somewhat snowy weekend. Funny how in these times I don't have to worry about the weather affecting my travel plans. Been in the house for 12 days now. I can feel the stirring of restlessness beginning. I don't suffer for lack of things to do but the mist of "I don't feel like doing most of them" is settling in. One thing I will work on today right after this is guest writing the Humane Society's column for the newspaper next week. I seem to have lost a day yesterday - thought it was Thursday and I was wondering why people were talking about Fish Fry carry out meals when I realized today that's because yesterday WAS Fish Fry Friday!

Got an email from the Humane Society president - the people who handled our biggest fundraiser of the year have backed out. I think people have to come to grips that things are going to be different this year - WAY different. This won't just disappear at the end of the month and we all return back to where we were. We have lost revenue from closing the thrift shop and it will probably stay closed at least through the end of April following the governor's orders to close non essential businesses. No one knows how far this will impact regular plans so in my opinion, the best thing to do as they all sit home (provided they are not worried about how their own personal businesses will fare) is to give some thought to contingency plans and the possibility of cutting the budget way back at least for the first half of the year. I think some people would rather stick their heads in the sand and ignore this is all happening. In any event - not my worry.

Our stores seem to be well stocked but we are getting an influx of cabin people looking to escape their more infested areas. This does not make any of us locals happy at all. We don't need the strain on our services. In fact 3 of the area small hospitals don't even deliver babies any more. Wish people would stay put but they won't. And I'm sure there are people looking to make money off their cabin rentals with a possible slow season ahead. So far :crossed: the virus has not hit our town yet.

I think I'm going to dig around to come up with some ideas on meals for the week. I had a burst of energy last week coming up with things - now I am not really all that hungry myself so cooking is not of much interest to me. Last night DH warmed some leftover pot roast and potatoes. Wasn't enough left to share so I scrambled an egg and added cut up avocado and fresh tomato as a side salad along with a few slices of fresh orange. He commented on how pretty and colorful my plate was. I made him some homemade lemonade with the batch of Meyer lemons I had which he enjoyed. Thinking that I might get ambitious and make a lemon cake and use some of the blueberries I have in the freezer. Although I am taking things out of the freezer to cook, it seems like I am not really making any more room in the freezer.

Shiloh is sitting on her perch watching all the tree branches bounce in the wind outside. It's getting breezy as we have a storm moving in. Tarzan is cute - he is fascinated sitting at the window watching big snowflakes flying outside. I have a feeling when the houseflies show up they are going to rip my house apart trying to chase them.

I did finally get back on the NuStep again. It was difficult at first - I can see how I have weakened. Just going for 20 minutes at a time and will build up from there. Consistency is the key.

Good to hear from you Susie - glad you are keeping up with work. Steady paychecks give peace of mind. I have to check and see if my Mom is eligible for the stimulus money - she could use a few extra dollars. She takes Eloquis to thin the blood and it's frightfully expensive. I am trying to think of things to keep her from being bored. Wish our thrift shop had more large print books - I'd send her a few to take the edge off.

Anyway I am babbling at this point so on to the next task. Stay well and sane everyone...

Morning (just) all,
Got up earlier this morning to try to beat the heat in the garden. It is still quite warm out there from around 9.30am to 3:00pm. So I have built part of the new garden bed, and filled it with soil and fertiliser etc. Then I mowed the lawns, tidied up the yard and retreated inside for breakfast and a look at the news on tv. This is mainly to get rid of the flies who think I am just gorgeous.
Tomorrow I will plant that bit and finish building the other half of the bed and get it ready for planting. The beans are up - well the butter beans are, I haven't seen the green beans yet and it seems like the little roly-poly carrots are starting to appear as well. Difficult to tell with carrots. The corn is also poking through the mulch.

Sometimes feeling a bit shut in myself Happy. Difficult to stay put in one place for long. I still have a great many bits to go through and get rid of the obsolete, the junk, the never to be looked at again and I can also destroy some of my old tax files and contracts since I only have to keep them for 5 years now. So anything up to 2015 can go. That means there is only one year to worry about and wonder about since I gave up work in the 2016 tax year.
I also have to look for some of DS2's stuff. He seems to think he is missing some things he feels are important to him and his family history. I may have some of them here but I thought I had packed them all up and sent them off when he moved out. Which probably means that his ex has either disposed of them, or sold them on or generally just ditched them somewhere. Who knows, but it looks like a trip up into the roof space sometime soon and I really don't want to go there. Not because I don't want to get up there, but it's the getting down that is the problem - my ladder is about 9 inches too short and I have to be very careful not to knock the ladder over when I get down or I could be sitting up there for ages.
My cupboards, pantry and freezers are full. I don't need to shop for a very long time so that's off the menu. No point in going to the mall to just potter about because there are very few shops open any more and those that are don't really interest me. I can't meet friends for coffee unless we find a place that is out of the way, outdoors and open either.
Must say my wedding was small as well. It just seems such a shame for those who have organised a normal wedding to celebrate the day can no longer have it. Steve Irwin' daughter got married last Wednesday and there was only him, her and her brother as well as the celebrant (and no doubt a crocodile or two) there. Apparently Terri (the mother of the bride) wasn't allowed at the outdoor ceremony, but could be at the family dinner.

Susie - Stay home as long as you can. It may be boring, it may be dull, it may send you batty, but at least is will keep you well. I've been concentrating on the things I have been putting off for ages and getting rid of the junk etc. I need to get a new paper shredder. Mine gave up the ghost a while back. I will go to Office Works on my way home from taking a friend to the hospital tomorrow. He doesn't have the virus, he has a hernia which can not be put off operating on any longer or he will be in dire trouble. I will rush in and get the shredder, take a look at the new computers around the place and see if I can find one that suits. This one is getting old and is more or less full and needs checking for malware. My virus detector does a good job, but I'm sure there is stuff on this one that doesn't need to be there.

Okay, I had better go and finish sorting through some of the paperwork I have accumulated and file it away, send off some letters to family and friends that I haven't spoken to for a while. Look after yourselves. Laura and Annie come out, come out from wherever you are

STAY SAFE, STAY PUT, STAY WELL.

Gosh, I didn't realize how long it's been since I last posted!

Still working at home - been extended until 4/7. It's making me batty by now, but I'm thankful to have a job to do at home. Was unable to get a prorated train ticket refund for March, and I'd only used half of it. Already completed a form to return my April ticket - timing didn't work to cancel it. I think WFH will be extended, and if we do return to the office in April, I'll buy some 10-ride tickets. By April 10, I have to decide if I will buy a monthly for May...maybe more 10-ride tickets for the time being.

Maybe I've watched & read too much news, but I'm a bit nervous of going anywhere because my asthma puts me in a higher risk category. And then bf decides to have a friend over to the house last night who takes public transportation everywhere... really?? Sigh.
Bf has been doing most of the shopping lately, and he goes to see his mother, which I don't think is the smartest thing, but it's on a less frequent basis.

No more PT for the past week now, so I do the exercises at home. If only I could motivate myself to get back to my other exercise stuff. Foot's still not 100% as to that issue that's unrelated to the surgery site, but getting there.

Other than working and doing PT exercises, I've been watching tv, reading, doing crossword puzzles, doing laundry, baked brownies and procrastinating on tackling some home projects. We had some nice weather days last week and I got outside for a few slow walks. Not much the last few days as it's been chilly and/or rainy, and especially today because it's windy as heck out there right now.

Gonna get this posted and come back for personals.

Back for personals...


Annie - Please come visit!


Happy - Glad your teeth are healing and the stains will come off when the hygienist cleans them. I get you with going a bit stir crazy. And yes, a bit depressed and sad. We have to try and get outside for fresh air and keep in touch with our friends however we can. But it's definitely a lot different than life before WFH, self-isolation, quarantines, and stay at home mandates began. I understand your concern about seeing your mother. I'm imagine your sister keeps your mom stocked with groceries, etc - maybe she can get you and your mom set up on a Skype or Facetime thing so you can chat face-to-face? == Have you decided to move everything to your new computer yet? I hope you figure out what the issue is with the wireless mouse.


Shad - Sounds like you are "keeping on keeping on" with house projects and the garden. I need to check to see what seeds I have sitting around that I might try to start and hope they aren't too old. Or get online for seeds, since I hear that's also something in short supply at the stores. I have a mixed pack of grape/cherry tomatoes in the fridge that are past their prime (shame on me), but now I'm wondering if some of those seeds would sprout for me...have to see how that works online. Letting fallen tomatoes sit on the ground outside is one thing. I don't know if burying a tomato in a pot of seed starting soil is quite the same. I still haven't really decided how to do my elevated container planting alongside the house, but I'm leaning towards cheap - plastic storage bins and cinder blocks. == I'm sorry to hear DS2's split from his gf is not ending on civil terms. I hope he can find the stuff that's currently missing. == As you saw in my previous post - not saving on train fares for March - half of that went unused. And that parking permit was a bust too - another half month wasted. Oh well, glad to be able to absorb those losses. And happy to know that when I'm once again commuting to work I will be riding my bike to the train station. :)


Susie - Glad to hear you've been working from home. I agree, I don't think we'll be back in the office in early April. Cool you're doing your cardio drumming and church services remotely! Yes, this is the time to get into a routine with exercising at home. I've been setting my alarm later since I have no commute. What I really should do is get into an AM exercise routine. I'll give that a go this coming week. Good for you keeping busy while staying home - I have to say I've been watching a lot of tv these days, but I may have finally gotten restless with too much tv and reading, so I might finally be ready to tackle some work around the house.


Ceejay - I think from FB it looks like the weather's been cooperative and you've been out doing yardwork. I'm thinking of hiring someone to do spring cleanup because we never did get all the leaves up last fall. I hope you're settling in nicely in Ash Grove. The timing of this COVID-19 stuff might be helping you get accustomed to rural living where it sounds likes there's less "go out and hit the mall" kind of stuff to do within close range of home.


Okay, gonna get this posted. Everyone stay healthy!!

Good Afternoon!

Indiana is in a mess with this covid as all of you are. I still have to come into work. I am on an alternating schedule starting this week. I work M W FR this week then T TH next week and so on. 50% coverage. The days we have off we are on call in case someone doesn't show up. We still get full pay even if we are not here due to covid. We are getting a bit of hazard pay but nothing really to write home about. Just grateful for a job, insurance and whatever extra they want to give me. Yes we are considered essential. We are the under the same security act as the stock market. C is still working. He gets nothing if he doesn't work. No workie no pay. They are considered essential. Everyone is buying bread off the shelves. Those same people will need a structured diet soon. Our shelves at the grocery are mostly stocked. Still cannot find cleaning supplies or toilet paper. Nor paper towels. We are ok for the time being. Just heard on our update for the day that here in Indiana they are expecting the peak to be between mid-APril to end of April or mid-May. Ha, bout like their weather forecasters. Maybe this, maybe that.

Cs mom must have a very bad case of demensia or old timers. She has been getting really bad on memory. Cs dad is having a hard time taking care of her and thinks he has to. She really needs to be put in a facility of some sort. She has not been diagnosed by a doc but heck I could diagnose it. He won't look into facilities because he is old school and thinks he has to take care of her. Plus he is just stubborn.

I lost half my post.

Morning
Like the rest we are on stay at home.order. Doesn't really bother me and when I do have to get out some groceries it's like a ghost town. Sis is an essential worker. She said some patients have cancelled appointments but others are still coming for their appointments
I got part of mmy unpacking done yesterday.
Today is house cleaning day and some more unpacking and organizing of my things.
Hello's to everyone

Morning all. Happy Friday. I guess.

Nothing much to report. Work keeping me busy enough, especially the last couple days. We’ve officially extended WFH through April 30th. We have a very nice keyboard tray in our home office, but not one in the spot where I’m sitting with my laptop/monitor/keyboard/mouse work setup. I think I’m going to shop for one, as I’m used to having one.

I’ve been exercising in the mornings before work the past four days. Nothing overly strenuous. Also taking short walks most days after the workday is over. It’s not sunny today, but the temp is mild, so if it’s not raining I’ll probably take a walk or haul one of my bikes up from the basement and take a spin around the neighborhood.

We want to get someone out to do a spring cleanup in the front/back yard. There’s leaves and foliage that were never removed last fall. For a minute I couldn’t remember why it didn’t happen…but, duh, it was because of my foot surgery.

We have a guy coming on Monday to look at the spot where we get water in the basement. We need to figure out if it’s the window well or a crack in the foundation – the crack has been repaired in the past, so I’m betting on the window well. I’d really like to solve that problem once and for all and then tackle the basement cleanup.

Sitting here in the home office for the past couple weeks, I’ve decided I want to reconfigure the file cabinets under the desktop I use for work so the opening for the chair is more centered. The only issue is that bf’s keyboard setup will probably be in my way once that’s done. It’s been several years now, but we’d set up the home office so nicely with adequate file cabinets for paperwork, work surfaces for all the computer stuff, overhead bins for supplies, and nice fabric-covered bulletin boards to hang calendars and stuff. Then a few years back, bf moved his keyboard stuff in there, in the way of the windows and one of the file cabinets….grrr. Anyway, I took a couple measurements and his keyboard stuff will fit very nicely in a corner of the front (spare) bedroom. Gonna tell him I want it moved this weekend. Should be fun.

==

Annie – Yes, I’m also glad to have a job! When you’re at the office, are there about the same amount of co-workers, or are a lot of people able to work from home? Nice you get the same pay but don’t have to be in the office every day now. Good thing you’re already used to having a full house! Now you have more time to help S keep the boys out of trouble!!! I hope C is getting good rest when he’s not at work, because it sounds like he’s really busy now keeping those shelves stocked!! == Sorry to hear about C’s mom’s dementia/memory issues. What a difficult situation for C’s dad. I hope nothing serious happens before he finally realizes she needs more care than he can provide on his own. My mother’s memory is getting worse, but I think she’s okay in her condo at the senior community - for now.

Ceejay – Sounds like you have the house to yourself when your sister is seeing patients. That probably works well, since you’re accustomed to having your own place. Hope you’re almost finished with unpacking and organizing. Did you just change the photo of your 3fc profile? Are those your sister's cats?

Hellos to the rest of you!! Everyone be safe and stay healthy!!

Good morning ladies,

Figured I would check in for a bit. I am losing track of time - this is the 2nd week in a row that I totally lost Friday. Had 2 Thursdays this week and last :rofl: Not that it mattered.

We were supposed to get an inch of snow yesterday and got quite the snowstorm. I'd say we got about 4 inches total. Brilliant sunshine today and tomorrow so hoping it will all just melt away quickly. Yesterday I decided to use up some groceries around the house - I find myself doing that more now, don't want to waste things and I feel somewhat like I am stuck in the 1950's as a housewife again. Now where's my apron? LOL. I decided to make some baked macaroni and cheese. With toasted breadcrumbs like DH likes. Geez what an ordeal! So much simpler to just open a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese :rofl: I made the white sauce and decided to make it cheesier by melting in some cheddar that I had. I also used some flavored spreadable cheese I had to get rid of it and add a bit more flavor. I toasted the bread and put it in my Vitamix to pulse to breadcrumbs but I used the dry container which I guess grinds things finer like flours so the crumbs came out too fine. I mixed them with a bit of butter and seasonings but did not like the texture of them for the purpose I intended. Cooked up the pasta and mixed everything together in a square dish and baked it up. With prep and cleanup, probably took me 2 and a half hours. I had intended it for lunch and it certainly took more time than I thought it would. We ate about 2:30pm. DH said he really didn't care for the cheese sauce - he liked the white sauce style better with scattered bits of melted cheddar cheese throughout :rolleyes: All that work for nothing... I had a small dish for dinner and tossed the rest out. Then I get the "what's for supper" question. I looked at him and the cats and thought "why do you have to eat so much???". Getting tired of cooking and we are only 2 weeks in. It's going to be a long wait until the end of the month is over and I think our shelter at home is going to extend beyond the end of the month to be truthful. Either the virus will kill us or people being stuck together in too close of quarters for too long will do us all in! :lol:

I will ask that you not take personally anything DH says on FB. We both despise trump. That is no secret. We are appalled at his behavior and angered at his lack of concern for the countrymen he swore to protect. He totally blew it with handling this crisis and he stands head and shoulders above others when it comes to his need for vindictive vengeance, arrogant attitude of the wealthy have it alls vs the poor peons and total disregard for those pleading for help at the top. Healthcare workers who are constantly exposed to the virus can't get tested yet he jokes and has a meeting with oil executives as no no doubt promises them bail out money and then gets each of them a virus test just because he can. He mocks reporters who ask the difficult questions that expose his failings and turns over the stockpiles of Personal Protective Equipment not to the hospitals that desperately need them but instead to private distributors who price gouge and sell them on the open market. 40 percent of the overpaid ventilators in the stockpile DO NOT WORK because he let the maintenance contract expire. He claims he inherited a broken system yet he had 38 months in office to fix it and more and more people are coming forward with evidence that there were constant recommendations to him to consider the effects of a pandemic which he ignored. Because all he knows is how to run a business into the ground and that is what he is doing to this country. And yet people still think he's wonderful and his approval ratings (which I strongly doubt as propaganda) appear to be going up. It's disgusting. Totally disgusting. But DH with nothing else to do is constantly on FB posting anti trump things. He needs to let it go already and we will no doubt get into a big argument about it shortly as he does not like to be criticized. Sigh...

I wish I could say that I made more of a dent in my big plans than I did. This time of year my knees and arthritis bother me more than ever. Yesterday it started out as a heavy rain and when I woke up I was in so much pain from head to toe. My knees are acting up also. I try not to spend too much time in my house slippers and get dressed and put on supportive shoes as bad shoes also contributes to the problem. Even though I am at home, the days are still flying by. I have laundry to do today and I am bound and determined to get the floor washed which means finishing up some boxes I was sorting. I have to get the 3 season room cleaned out tomorrow as they are supposed to come Monday and replace the defective roof which is rusting out. I don't have much in there besides recycling boxes, a couple of spare blankets and the box of chemicals for the hot tub but I also don't have any place to put that stuff now either. Was hoping to use that as a sorting area for clothes I want to pass on to the thrift shop but that will have to wait. Oh and I have my sewing machine in there too. I forgot why I put it there in the first place but now I will use it to make a couple of masks for DH and I.

One of the guys who used to call bingo for us at the Senior Center got arrested Thursday for making and selling meth out of his house. He is a former Marine, very religious and it just doesn't make sense. Also his brother died last year of a drug overdose and he could not save him and mourned him so WHY are you now making METH??? I don't get it at all. But drugs are very prevalent here so I guess it's easy money when money is hard to come by...

I am trying to deal with my teeth or lack of. I was smiling big at DH laughing at one of his jokes the other day and he sweetly said "I hope they fix your teeth soon" LOL He I didn't have them in and he wasn't being mean - just knows how frustrating it's been and my treatment is on hold. Mouth still sore, I can't eat with them in my mouth - too painful around where the posts have been set in. I disinfect them religiously so I am not afraid of infection but I am also a bit concerned that 2 months later they are still this sore. I don't see the dentists opening up shop again until at least May. My sister called me the other day. Her father in law who is 86 wasn't feeling well and called 911. They came and got him and he started having seizures. He is in the neurological intensive care unit at the hospital in Chicago. He keeps having seizures so they can't do the MRI on him to diagnose further and have no idea what is causing this. They can't visit him as the hospitals are all on lock down. It's a very difficult thing for all. Outside of his mom dying from cancer when he was 11 years old, my BIL has not had to deal with any family hospitalization or illness so this is really hitting him hard. More so because you can't be near your loved one.

Laura - hope the leak in the basement is easily fixed. We had a crack in the foundation DH was able to easily patch. Good luck with the BF moving the home office around :lol: I always hated keyboard trays. Probably why I have back problems now ... It's funny to watch the people on tv and see their makeshift home offices. When we lived in AH we had the BEST ever home office set up. Complete with regular office furniture. I miss that. DH said the overhead cabinets were too much of a pain to assemble so when we moved from TN to here, I think he junked them. :eek: we have the tables and file cabinets but I sure miss the overhead storage. Good for you for keeping up with the exercise. You've had some great weather - super even if you are just walking the sidewalks up and down the street. We have a giant spring mudpit right now and we are waiting for the bears to wake up so not ideal outside trotting conditions :rofl:

Ceejay - sounds like you are keeping yourself quite busy in your new home. Are you missing the peace and quiet of living alone or are you glad for the company?

Annie - I sure am glad I don't have to commute any more. You are driving tho, right? So limit contact with others - somewhat until you get out of your car! When I opened the 3FC page it went to the first post and I almost fell over - thought C had another heart attack!! Hope you are all staying healthy. Sounds like sane is totally out of the box right now. :( Sorry about C's Mom - dementia in the later stages is very hard to care for someone.

Susie - I think everyone should accept that this virus will be with us at least through the end of May. If we all behave like we should I hope none of us will have to deal with that awful situation in NYC. Key word BEHAVE. Life will be different for all of us the rest of the year no doubt.

Shad - sounds like you are doing well. Not being the neighborhood taxi are you? I agree with carrots being so hard to grow simply because you never know when they are ready! You don't want to disturb them yet how to know when the time is right to pick them. Also I find it interesting how they will get all knobby and grow around little clumps of dirt. Have you put them in sandy soil or just tossed them in the patch and what comes, comes? Sorry to hear the fuss with DS2 and the ex. So sad when I relationship once good takes such an angry ending. I hope he did not lose anything too important.

Well here it is noon already. So good afternoon instead of good morning :lol: This is how my day dribbles away... The wash cycle has ended and is waiting on me to put it in the dryer. I pulled out the onions to chop for soup and remembered I wanted to finish this post so I'd better get to business.

Stay safe, healthy and well ladies. ♥

Hello,


Time goes fast and slow at the same time. I am quite busy at work. Managers aren't going to a lot of meetings so they have more time to think and have such great ideas of how we can improve this or that.


As a state we are now extended for Stay at Home until May 1. Our surve is supposed to start hitting someone in the middle of April ot the end. A peditriction from my home tome had Covid-19 and was hospitilized. Things were not looking good at all and everyone was and still is praying for him. He is a really great person and wonderful doctor as is his wife.


We heard good news today and I pray he will continue to heal. I worry about his family contacting the virus. If you would , please keep them in your prayers. There are also some of his staff members who the virus as well.


Happy: 4 inches of snow is a pretty good amount. I am with you on the "use up the food we have" train. Both me and DH do some of the cooking and we end up with doing some take out on the weekend.


Please don't worry about me being upset when it comes to politics. I figure every one has their agendas and ideas. I don't see any clear lines between the parties anymore and frankly I am embarrased by most of all of them. I will have to say that Ohio's Govenor and his staff are handing this virus and it's issues very well for our state; he isn't perfect but he has a lot of tack and grave.


I listened to the President's address the other day and after 30 min, I had to turn it off; my issue wasn't that he is a Replican but rather so full of himself; it was all about him....I heard enought. So those are my thoughts as far as it comes to politics.


Ceejay: It sounds like you are getting yourself settled at your sister and the both of you are getting into a routine. I have enjoyed seeing the pictures you have posted on Facebook of your family.


Laura: My DH did some clearning up of the yard last weekend and mowed the grass for the first time. We have some low spots in the back yard and need to get someone out sometime to see if some grading or something needs done. I need to get the railing on the porch wipped down; maybe if we get warm weather this week and I can do it after work. I can get things done like that because I don't have the comute. I am sure you find the same to be true.


I can't seem to get my home office in the shape I want to. I'll make a dent in things and then the next thing I know it is all piled up again.


My fingers are crossed that you can easily find the leak in the basement area and it won't be too costly.


It is great that you are getting workouts in. I was lazy with them last week; this week I need to get back to them.


Annie: sorry you lost your post. It is good the C is still working, but I hope he isn't over doing it. It is good you are still working as well. I am hoping that you and the family will get to KI this year.....might not be the same timing but whenever you can.


Shad: Did you end up getting a shredder? I need to find a better home desk chair but I haven't been out looking.


Time for me to head to bed; talk with you all later.

Hello from Missouri
Im settled in as far as I can go. I need some exra shelf space for storage and sis has this house and garage full of things not used. I can barely fit my vehicle in the garage but at least it is inside.
Speaking of sis, she puts 120% into things she wants to get done for that day. Wears me out just watching her. I help when I can.
More later.

Hi ladies,

I thought we were headed to a warmer spring and instead we woke up to a snowstorm today. Big snowflakes, little snowflakes. Ugh. I was debating about going to the store early this morning, glad I changed my mind as it started snowing hard right about the time I would have gotten into the store. They did not predict this last night. Hoping it will melt quickly. After this we are supposed to be dry for the next 10 days so I hope the sump pumps which started discharging the melt around the house foundation will stay at a slower pace. I always get nervous this time of year.

I'm sure you must have heard about the idiotic, STUPID fiasco presented to us courtesy of the Republican party and a conservative Supreme Court that has thousands of people risking their health and life to go and vote yesterday. In the southern part of the state - a largely Democratic area - they closed 125 of the polling places which crammed people even further. People up here requested absentee ballots 3 weeks ago and never got them. Supposedly there was a scam that had people mailing their ballots back to a fake P.O. Box rather than the Clerk's Office where they belonged. This had nothing to do with choosing Bernie over Biden but had EVERYTHING to do with a plan to get an incumbent Republican Wisconsin Supreme Court judge re-elected. They knew a small voter turnout favored them. They were mad that the Supreme Court vote was placed on the Primary Ballot, rather than a separate election that few would turn out for. So they blocked a request to delay the vote (which other states have already done) and the Federal Supreme Court ruled against a request to extend the absentee voting deadline given that so many have not received ballots they requested weeks ago. People are outraged. People in downstate Milwaukee stood out in lines for up to 3 hours in a thunderstorm and hail just to vote. I wonder if they will file a lawsuit to invalidate this election. God give people sense to see what is really going on in this country against our citizens. I am glad I thought about this early on and found that I could go to our clerk's office and vote early in person.

We now have our first case of Covid-19 in our county. They won't tell us where which is frustrating as our county is a very large area that covers a great distance, but I have a feeling it's right here in our town. So we must assume that everyone is infectious. This was what I was dreading. I will for sure stay home more - hence deciding against going out this morning. And I will get more skeevy about sanitizing us and things coming into this house.

Tuesday we did pick up a few heat and eat meals from a chef friend of ours who is doing catering work. It's nice to have a break from cooking. I get tired of constantly thinking of what to eat, making it and doing all the clean up. DH said his skills are limited to scrambled or over easy eggs and macaroni and tomato sauce. I do like his scrambled eggs but not the macaroni. He will grill or griddle if I prep everything else so that's not much of a break for me. We were going to put the beef kabobs on the griddle with some fresh vegetables but Mother Nature put the kabosh on that today. The sun came out, melted the snow on the deck and then the sky got gray and it SNOWED AGAIN. :(

Ceejay - one thing I noticed about the south was that most people used the garage for extra storage, not to store their cars. I don't understand that, perhaps it's because of the milder weather.

Susie - do all these great ideas managers are thinking of mean more work for you? :rofl: It's sad and they said on the news that soon most people will know someone who was touched by this virus. I do hope that people don't think this is a farce and will head out as the warmer weather rolls in. It's shown that keeping away from each other is the best way to handle this though I worry it will make subsequent rounds. We'll see.

Hellos to the rest. I'm going to take a shower, try and resist the urge to cut my own hair :eek: and get dinner together.

Stay safe ladies. :wave:

Afternoon all. Today was an early closing “at the office” for Good Friday, even though almost every single one of us is WFH. I’m glad for it. This week was okay, but sort of draggy.

I decided I needed to get a keyboard tray for the spot where I work. BF bugged me to ask my company to pay for it. I do use a keyboard tray at work, so it makes sense I get one at home too. I finally asked my boss today. He agreed, but only up to a certain amount. An amount I was easily able to pay myself. But I picked out a couple options and emailed them to our office services person to order. My first choice was a bit over the limit, so I told her I’d pay the difference if the company discount didn’t bring it down to the limit. I’m sure bf (Mr. Champagne taste, lol) will tell me I should have ordered something more expensive if I was going to personally cover the difference. But I’m thinking that whatever I order will be fine and hopefully will hold up at least through this WFH period and will serve its purpose for the limited times I’ll be WFH after that. Which I wouldn’t mind doing once a week…We’ll see. If anything comes out of this whole horrible situation, it’s that people can be productive in a WFH environment.

Not much else to report except that I’ve been exercising in the mornings before starting work. Short walks after work, weather permitting. Yesterday was gusty and windy all day and chilly. The wind had eased up by the end of the workday, so I didn’t go for a walk.

Oh, we had a guy over for the basement leaking on Tuesday. He ran the hose in the window well of the leak area and now that bf had pulled off the wall paneling in another area of the wall, we could see the water running through the window frame. So we know it’s not a foundation crack. Yay for that. We either don’t have drains in the window wells at all, or we do have them and this one is clogged up. I looked at our ancient house plans I received electronically from our village a while back and one page showed a cutaway “typical section” of the house which shows drain tile on the interior. I honestly don’t know what that means – if it links to the sump pump, etc. We might try and ask the village if they can explain. Or just keep looking online. What I DO know is that I didn’t like this guy’s idea of installing a drain pipe and connecting it to a whole separate sump pit (with pump) just for this one window well. Jeez. Probably gonna dig a bit and see if we can find a drain. If not, get someone else out to tell us what their solution would be. I’d really like to know what we have and not have to dig around to figure it out. Several years ago now we had a sewer backup and discovered that we had a giant catch basin in front that had probably never been pumped out since the house was built. Surprise!!
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Happy – Snow, ugh! The weather people here were forecasting that possibility, but thankfully we didn’t get any. :crossed: no more snow this spring! == Sorry the laborious homemade baked mac and cheese didn’t go over well. Yup, why go to the trouble? And it sounds like time for you to give DH some cooking lessons – or at least some prepping lessons!! I have to say that eating breakfast out and the offering is homemade corned beef hash, I generally hesitate to order it because I liked the generic “from the can” variety just fine or even better. But the last time I went out to breakfast with a friend, I did have their homemade hash and WOW, it was really good! And I did make it from scratch once and was disappointed in the results. So I probably won’t ever bother with that again and will only eat hash when I go out for breakfast. And only the homemade stuff from that place in Edison Park. == I don’t take the political stuff you or your DH post personally. I know what our president is every time I listen to him talk. I hope some people have had their eyes opened to what he is. And what a mess with your state’s voting! == Sorry to hear your knees and arthritis are bothering you. I hope you keep up with the NuStep and maybe that’ll help with it. My knees feel sort of strained and I think it’s just from lack of use. I’m hoping exercise helps. I’ve been doing the strength training stuff – my Body Electric show dvds, but I think I need to ride my stationary bike to really get the rust out, LOL. == What an ordeal with your teeth! I’m sure you can’t wait until the healing is done and you can move to the next step. == How is your mom doing? Your sister’s FIL? Must be rough for them not seeing him.

Susie – Good to be busy at work, definitely makes the day go quickly! == I’m so glad that the doctor you mentioned in your post is doing better. There’s too much bad news, so yay for the good stuff. Agree what you said about politics – everyone has their own agenda of things that are important to them. How can we all agree who’s doing a good job if we’re all looking at it from a different POV? And re our Prez…I agree with how you said what you said, and I do think our governors are handling this with more care and gravitas than he is. == Did you get back to your workouts this week?

Ceejay – I’m glad you can at least fit your car inside the garage. I’m sure your sis would appreciate it if you can help out with some things – anything – and maybe if it’s picking out things she might want to get rid of it’ll also be a benefit to you in the form of more space for your stuff…

Hellos to Annie and Shad! :wave:

Okay, gonna get this posted and rustle up some lunch. Everyone stay safe, stay healthy and have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Easter!
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Hi all,

What a weird Easter. Went and picked up Easter dinner at a local restaurant. Came in wearing my Easter pink mask :lol: It snowed 6 inches. DH messed his back up on Saturday and was bedridden for 4 days. He barely made it down the stairs and to bed. Either a nerve or severe muscle spasms. So the last couple of days I have been everyone's slave. ;) Cats are going stir crazy too - getting into everything, running at top speed chasing each other to burn off energy. DH is up and about today but very mindful that in a second he can be on his knees again so he's being careful. My knees are killing me. The other day I was almost crippled hobbling around. It's the poor support in my inside shoes. I have to be mindful to get dressed and into good shoes early on. Sometimes the day gets away from me, especially when it's filled with requests to take care of things.

I have lots to do but losing energy and getting restless. Back to making a list and being focused again. I want to pull together the deductions for the taxes. I keep telling DH to WAIT already with the filing. We have an extension until July because of the virus and we have to pay as we always do so what's the darn hurry here?????? He is restless and at times hard to deal with also. I find myself getting more annoyed and wishing I could have some time left alone to get my own projects done. But I guess we are all going through that in our own way.

Had a buddy call me yesterday. She had triple bypass heart surgery and a valve replacement last week. She is on her own, her BF has dementia and is in a nursing home. She is the kind of friend who calls you when she wants something and most conversations get steered to her interests. It was good to hear from her yesterday and then I realized the purpose of her call was to touch base and see if I could lend her some roomy t-shirts and sweat pants for her 2 week stint in rehab. She has no clothing other than what she wore to the hospital and is getting transported directly from the hospital to rehab. So right after I finish this I will go in the upstairs closets and see if I can pull together a few things like robe, pjs and some loose t-shirts and possibly some pants for her, wash them and drop them off later today after I call the rehab and find out how to drop them off. The hospital campus is locked down. They can probably come out the front door, I can pop the trunk open and they can take the bag - no contact. Rehab is the same complex as the senior living I was trying to get my Mom into 2 years ago so they are protective of their residents which is good.

I was also asked if I could write a couple of the Shelter's columns for the newspaper. I don't blame D - I like to write but even I would be at a loss for topics week after week. Especially when there isn't much going on at the moment.

I will come back to personals later. I was hoping to get the bag of clothes to S this afternoon and it's 10am. I need to find things, give them a quick refresh wash and dry, clean the litter boxes and in the meantime make some food for us, shower and get dressed. That can easily fill the afternoon. Hope you are all doing well.