Short note to apologise for not being in for so long, however it has been a very busy couple of weeks and time just gets away from me. Hopefully next week will be a bit quieter.
Happy - I hope you get everything done that has to be done for your mum. It's a harrowing time as you come across things long forgotten to remind you of what used to be. Although we don't talk often, I do have Sheila (Teel) on my friends list. She seems to be going okay. I'll check with her for you to see if she sent you the invite.
Susie - glad to hear that the shoulder is going okay and you are fit and well. Keep exercising those muscles. I'll try to send you some recent photos from the garden. Dug out a few potatoes yesterday. They are yummy and this year they are BIG so half a one does me at a time.
Annie - Hope all the reno's are going smoothly and you enjoy

That's it for today. Sorry. I've got potting up some plants which I bought from the Geranium festival last week, renovating a bookcase, clearing out the shed, French lessons and a dog walk on my plate for this morning, plus I need to get organised to go to Probus meetings this coming week and I have 2 Kilo of strawberries to make into jam and couli (sauce for icecream - yummy) then there is some digging and planting in the garden, checking for pests on the roses, playing stick with the dog and a trip to do shopping today - who ever said Sunday was a day of rest. Think I might go back to the office - this retirement gig is too busy.

Hi everyone. Quick post to say hello.

I made the most of the last Sunday of summer yesterday. I went to the farmers market, went riding on the bike path and went to a concert in the park. I'll have to remember that when it's not summer...

Happy - Safe travels to you tomorrow!

Susie - I hope you enjoyed the whirlwind trip to Springfield, MO. I'm so happy you're having a great recovery!! I wonder if I'd like that type of rotation schedule you now have at work. Our company announced last week our return to the office in January. Most people in the office have been designated as hybrid workers and are expected to be in-office 60% of the workdays, or about 3 days per week, and remote the rest. I thought the in-office days would be less...oh well. I too am grateful for my job, but I sure liked working 100% remotely.

Shad - You're so busy - maybe I should rethink retirement. Nope, not gonna happen. At least I'll be busy on my own terms...right??

I really need to get more exercise. BF re-joined his gym, but must wear a mask. I assumed the fitness centers I went to (park district ones) would also mandate masks, but I decided to look at their site and it looked like it didn't require masks for the vaccinated. I sent an inquiry to confirm.

Okay, I'll get this posted. TTFN!!

Hello everyone. My mother had a bad fall in her memory care facility last Thursday. She broke her right femur bone, right near the top near where it connects to the hip joint. She also fractured her wrist. The wrist can heal on its own, but mom had half hip replacement surgery on Saturday. The surgery went well and she’s moving to a rehab facility in the next couple hours. Rehab will be a rough go, as the dementia will make it more difficult. Please keep her in your thoughts, okay?

We’ll see how mom does with rehab to determine if she can go back to a memory care facility like the one she’s currently in. We’re not feeling very positive about her current facility right now, so we might be on the hunt for another. It’s also highly likely that going forward that she will need more care than that type of facility provides.

I had a 3-day weekend with a vacation day yesterday. I was at the hospital on Saturday and Monday. On Sunday I trimmed our overgrown lilac and hydrangea on the south side of the front of our property. I still have to trim all the other shrubs in front, including the other lilac bushes on the north property line.

I registered and was waitlisted for two fitness classes offered by the school district's community education program. Luckily, I got a spot in a Pilates Barre Fusion class. It’s the same instructor that I had for the deep stretch class I took a couple years back. She’s a trip, and I think I’ll enjoy it. I don’t know why they call it Barre…Half of the class is sort of a strength training class and half is Pilates. Yesterday we used a stretchy band to do a lot of the moves. Next class we’ll use a ball. I’m glad that my WFH schedule allows me to get to a 6:30 (Monday evening) class. The other class I’m still waitlisted for is a yoga class.

’m still mulling over re-joining the park district fitness center. Even if only to work out on the rowing machines they have there for a month or so to see which type I like better (water or air resistance), and if I like it enough to spring for the purchase of my own rowing machine. Given my poor record at home exercise, I would probably be much better off paying the $20 per month for the fitness center membership. I suppose I’ll get myself set up and see if I can stand exercising with a face mask (I confirmed they do require that, in accordance with the state mandate). BF has gotten back to his gym for about a month now and he says most people just pull the mask down under their chin. Last night most people in my class did the same. I was glad there weren’t a lot of us (a dozen max) and the room was large so we could distance from each other, and we also opened the windows.

Okay, I’ll stop rambling and get this posted. Hope you’re all doing well! TTFN.

So sorry to hear about your Mother Laura. Hope she gets better soon. Age and brittle bones can be a real drama.

I'll be back later for an update. Still seem to be busy as. Can't wait for retirement to kick in but then again I might be bored.

Good morning ladies,


I am back home again. Trying to figure out who I am and what I am supposed to be doing since I had the world ripped out from under me 8 weeks ago. I feel so twisted all around. Really glad I decided to cancel my end of the Maine trip - DH is leaving Friday and not only am I longing to be home for a bit (tired of travelling here and there) but I also have a lot of things to put into place that I would not have been able to do which would have left me stressed out. Also the more DH talks about the seminar he is going to and the things they are doing, the more I realize this would have been a lopsided "vacation" with him doing lots and me sitting in a hotel room by myself. So it's better to schedule another time when I can enjoy it more.


Laura I am sorry I never got the chance to call you. I didn't know from day to day what we were doing. My sister is not as anal with planning as I am so we just took it from day to day and suddenly those days flew by quickly. I will try and call you one night, probably next week. I am very sorry to hear about your Mom. A hip is a rough recovery, I hope that she will do well and that you can find a place where you are more comfortable with the level of care. I am grateful that my Mom spared us those decisions and expense as that was right around the corner with her. I was reading a magazine in the limo on the way to my sister's and it highlighted your area. I am so surprised to see how much has changed since I've been gone. Lots of restaurants, downtown is completely different, I'm sure it would look like a brand new area if I was to drive through. Your exercise classes sound very interesting. I tend to agree with you about spending the $20 and going to the gym if you don't trust yourself to do it at home. I am having the same issues - need to get on the stationary bike and the NuStep. When DH comes back from Maine, I want to start going back to the pool again although now it's getting chilly but at least it's not winter. Their locker room is cold and the showers don't have much water pressure but the water exercises I got from PT really help my knee so it's time to get that going again. I'd go myself but it's a 1 lane in each direction windy road and the people on it tend to drive way over the speed limit and tailgate since you can't pass because of the curves and it makes me nervous. What is water based resistance on the rowing machine? We have to wear masks at our fitness center - some people cheat, others will remove their masks if they are alone in the room which is ok. I think masks are ok unless you are doing some hard running on the treadmill. DH said they wear them on the upper walking track. Fortunately we don't have to wear them in the pool! Good luck with going back to the office. I'm surprised Metra is not screaming as I'm sure they are way down in revenues with less commuters - probably will petition a price increase. Going through my Mom's things we found a big coin purse just filled with bus tokens - my sister said they are useless - you have to use a prepaid card or something now. I remember when it was revolutionary when they went from tokens to actual coins. So much has changed if I really stopped and thought about it.


Shad - glad your potatoes are monsters. I love a good roasted potato. What's this about a dog? Wasn't the dog your son's and didn't he move? Perhaps I am confused. I see you are still with the Probus folks - hard to break away once you start volunteering.


Susie - by now I hope you are in full recovery and back to the routine. You are back at work now too? Are you in the office yet or still working from home? I'm glad to see your friend is making a comeback from her Covid ordeal. What an incredible journey that poor child has had. Hope you had a nice time at the out of town wedding. Nice to get out after all this time.


Annie - hope you have a good time on your sibling vacation. The beach looked amazing from the picture you posted. Hope you have good weather and a fun time with all.


Hello Ceejay


Well ladies I think for the first time EVER we will go through an entire year on just one thread. I know I can't get in here as much as I'd like to, seems we are all busy with our lives and don't notice the passing of time. I was going to make a new thread but at this point, why bother?


I think my sister was getting overwhelmed at the enormity of cleaning out my Mom's place. I felt bad because I cannot go up and down stairs and tote heavy things so I wasn't a whole lot of help - at least not as much as I wanted to be. Thank God for our family friend and neighbor who adopted my Mom after her Mom passed. T gets pushed around by her 2 brothers she takes care of and used my Mom's place as a refuge when they got nasty. I feel badly she is alone again. But that girl needs to be needed. She came into the house (she has a key) and sorted and organized and bagged up trash like a tornado. She is also creative, confiscated some of the neighbor's trash cans () so we could dump extra garbage and waiting for the trash men to come around and paid them a few bucks to take all the bags we were storing on the garage saving my BIL several weeks of coming over to fill up the garbage cans. She even contacted the local junk collector guys and told them we had a houseful of stuff. She made quick work of cleaning things out. It was SUCH A GODSEND, we will be forever grateful. We are going to pay her and tell her Mom wanted her to have that money because she would never take it on her own. She will probably give it to her stinking brothers but it's her money to do with as she likes. So things are rolling along. I hope my sister is able to meet with the realtor next week. The neighbors next door approached my sister about buying the house. Her elderly parents live in China and they want to bring them here. Only problem was they bought their current house at a rock bottom price because the former homeowners defaulted on their mortgage and then gutted the house - really gutted it - it had no appliances and they even took the hot water heater!! Mom's house needs some repairs but we are selling it at whatever the realtor suggests is the fair market value. I hope all will go well - my sister needs a break. As for me, I am motivated to get rid of a lot of stuff in my own house. ANd working on my health and strength. So with that, I will get busy - DH is packing for his trip and going back and forth behind me so I'll get out of his way.


Have a good week ladies.

Hello everyone.

My mother is back at the hospital as of yesterday. The rehab center had to call 911 as her BP was extremely low yesterday morning. Tests were done and she has a UTI and is now on antibiotics. I visited with her Saturday and she was very tired and didn’t want to eat. Hopefully they can get her to eat now. I think she should have been in the hospital longer after her surgery, but I doubt they’ll keep her very long this time either. I don’t think the rehab center has the level of care she needs, but maybe now that the anesthesia is out of her system and once the antibiotics take care of the UTI, she’ll be more clear-headed and make progress on the rehab. I can only hope. Please send some healing vibes her way!

Nothing much else to report. I did get a spot in that Pilates Barre Fusion fitness class and last night was my second class. I’m so out of shape and my core is so weak! I definitely have a lot of room for improvement. Yesterday the instructor warned us she was stepping it up and I took comfort that even the regulars (who've taken her classes before) found it challenging.

Happy – I’m sure it was good to cancel your Maine trip – the timing is just bad. I bet you’re happy to be back home in your own bed and among familiar surroundings. I’m sure you need some “recovery” time from the past couple weeks. I hope DH has a great trip and that you use your alone time to de-stress and just enjoy being home. Reading what you wrote about it, it brought back the time (nearly 5 years ago now) when my sister and I were clearing out my mom’s home out of state. And yes, I did return home with intentions to purge the excess in my own home! Of course, that feeling gradually faded, but just recently clearing out my mom’s condo and storage unit has reinvigorated that intention. I’m glad you had some helpers assist you – what a great neighbor!! Good luck with the sale. . == No need to apologize for not phoning. I’m sure you probably needed to just chill out and relax physically and mentally in the evening after your days full of going through your mom’s belongings. I am glad you’ve been spared the types of things we’ve been going through with my mother. Moving her a couple times, her decline due to dementia, and now that bad fall and facing this tough rehab. I don’t wish this on anyone.

As for changes in our area – I didn’t live near your former town before it changed, but its downtown is certainly a bustling area with so much going on - shops, restaurants, entertainment. My own town, well, it’s more like the “before” version of yours, but there’s a good amount of development going on right now, which of course causes some dissent from some residents. A few years ago I went to one of the town meetings that was discussing (debating) a large development (about 80% done by now) and the comment from one resident was something like “We don’t want to be another [your former town’s name]”, which got quite a bit of agreement from the other attendees. I’m of the opinion that we need development, but not so many of those big unattractive apartment and condo complexes – that is certainly not the best they can do. And I’m sure you heard about the big news concerning a potential stadium deal out my way…so more changes to come, one way or another.

I hope you get back to the pool since those water exercises helped your knee. As for me – one of bf’s friends is interested in buying my stationary bike, and it might be gone by the end of this week! And hopefully the guilt over not using it much will be gone too, lol! A water-resistance rowing machine has a tank with a flywheel inside it and water inside the tank provides the resistance. The handle with the cable connected to the flywheel provides the feel and sound of rowing on water. It feels very much like you’re actually in a boat rowing on the water. Another type of rower is air resistance, with a flywheel but no water. I imagine it’s similar to those Schwinn Airdyne stationary bikes. The park district’s fitness center has one of each type rowing machine, so that’s why I want to get in there and try them out. Though I still have doubts about buying another piece of equipment for home and having it go unused. Part of it is the idea of the basement…our basement is very basement-y. Not “creepy basement”, and not totally unfinished either, but it’s not a place I like to spend time in its current state. I kind of want to have the equipment upstairs…but we really don’t have room for that as both of our spare bedrooms already have their purposes. I don’t think a machine in the living room would go over too well…

No, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Metra raised fares more than they currently have. == LOL re finding the tokens! Payment methods are way different now. They do still take coins/bills which I’ve used that on my infrequent CTA rides. (I can never remember if transfers are still a thing anymore.) But now the way to pay for regular/frequent CTA riders is through the Ventra app, and the swipe cards that the money is loaded onto. Metra riders can also use Ventra to pay for their fares, but the paper monthly and 10-ride passes are still used, and single ride tickets can still be purchased, but now there’s a steep surcharge for cash fares on the train itself – but you can avoid it by paying with the Ventra app! Forcing change by hitting you in the wallet…

Annie – Hope you’re enjoying your vacation. Once FB was up again last night I saw that beach photo – oh that looks wonderful.

Shad – Thanks for the kind words concerning my mother. I just can’t imagine you not being busy. That’s probably a good thing to be, both physically and mentally.

Hellos to Susie and Ceejay!!

That's it for now! Time to post it.

Morning (just) all,
We were supposed to be having a bbq today at a local park, however Mother Nature has decreed that we will have rain and storms - first tropical storm of the season so we had to postpone the bbq. Today is also the day DS2 takes his ex-partner to court in a last ditch effort to sever their relationship and divide the assets. She is telling more and more lies about what she has and hasn't earned and put into the business so it has been impossible to come to an agreement since every time she has agreed with something, she finds something else to bring into the picture. My son isn't perfect but he has worked hard and long for what they built up and now she is saying he owes her money.

Enough of that although I hope the court comes to some agreement soon since I fear for my sons emotional and mental stress.

The garden is almost done for the year, only onions, a bit of garlic, potatoes, corn, carrots and some beetroot to harvest now and they will be done soon. I've been digging over the bare spots and fertilising and mulching them ready for next year.

Happy - good to hear that you are home and getting back into your groove. There is a great big hole to plug when someone you care about passes. It takes time to get your head around it. Such a final thing.
Now you need to start thinking about your own stuff and working on that. Always good to know what you have and what needs to be done with it.

Laura - hope your mother is doing okay - she's having a hard time what with the hip and the UTI not to mention the dementia. Age is not always kind. Glad to hear that you are back with the exercise again. It's something I must get motivated about again. Darn it.

Okay - time to go sort out something for lunch and then get on with the day. We're expecting storms soon so I need to go out and sort out the yard for any possible flying objects.

It's that time of the year again when everything turns purple. I'd attach some photos but as hard as I try nothing works

Evening all. I'm just about to shut down the computer and end my work week.

Shad - Sorry your son has ended up in court over finances with the ex-gf. I hope it ends well for him. == I always find it funny when you comment your garden is done and it's the beginning of summertime and it's too warm, while our gardening time ends at a certain point in autumn when frost threatens...actually before that when it does get too cool overnight and the sun's angle changes and veggies can no longer thrive. Well, except for the cool weather ones - not that I've ever grown any of those. Do you enjoy your break from gardening?? == My mom went back to rehab after a couple nights in the hospital, and she seemed so much better. My sister met with the social worker who reported mom's made some progress in rehab, and I hope she continues. I feel like if progress comes to a halt, they figure that's as good as it'll get and rehab ends. I don't want my mom's to end if it means she must use a wheelchair going forward. Being sedentary is unhealthy, I'm sure it's extremely unhealthy when one doesn't stand and walk. == Yes, I'm glad to be back in a fitness class, thought it's only one night a week. I still need to get myself to the gym and sign up for my membership so I can increase my activity level some more. == Love the jacaranda photos you posted on FB - wow, all of them together and blooming like that - gorgeous.

Hellos to the rest of you! Have a great weekend! I have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning, but otherwise no other firm plans. TTFN!

Hi all,
Back at home and settled in - of sorts. Now I have an even bigger mess to tackle. As I have to empty the bathroom closet, vanity and all the cabinets in the laundry room in anticipation of the start of the remodelling project which is supposed to begin sometime the end of this month, beginning of next. I also have to clear out the 3 season room as we will need to move the washer and dryer in there while they are working. There are some things I can (and am) tossing but many things that I am keeping because there is nothing wrong with the shampoos and body soap and my tri-ply stainless pots and laundry soap. We are getting very close to reaching freezing temperatures overnight - probably within the next week or so. That means nothing liquid can be stored in the uninsulated 3 season room. It seems like one thing leads to another - our walls were sprayed with the "popcorn" texture so prevalent at the time. They are pulling out the walls in both remodelled rooms and we have had to repair a crack in the wall over the fireplace in our great room - lots of wall space in there - dining room, living room and kitchen and the walls leading up to the upper loft. There is something to be said for NOT having an open floor plan. We have a support pillar that needs drywall repair so if you touch one thing, you pretty much have to do it all. Everything is a big expensive project and how much money do you want to put into a place??

It has not been a banner week here. We were supposed to get an outside awning put over the front entrance. It gets direct full on sun which causes the door to swell in the summer. It sticks and makes an awful racket. We can't trim the door because otherwise it would be too drafty in the winter. We have been waiting on installation and the guy called a week ago last Friday. Said they were coming on Tuesday. Not ask if that works or set a day - tells me when it works for them. Well it didn't - DH has to be here to supervise and I don't want people running around here when I am home alone. So I called him back and left a message. He never returned my call. I called on Monday again and asked if he got my call. He said yes. I said "did you have any plans to actually return my call???". Silence. He still wanted to come the next day. I told him not happening. I asked if he was going to give us a new installation date and he said he didn't know when. Haven't received a call in over a week. DH is back - he can deal with him.

I don't like the realtor my sister selected for my Mom's house. He is sloppy and unresponsive. The first contract he sent to sign was full of typos - my name was spelled wrong and he even got the address of the property WRONG. Every email he has sent is filled with misspellings. He said he sent me an electronic contract which I never recieved. My sister shared her copy and there were several things I questioned in it. I still don't have a correct contract to sign. My sister is fed up with the house and has a ton of resentment and anger and is lashing out at everyone. While empathetic, I am not putting myself at legal risk or giving someone else carte blanche to do whatever they want - this ain't my first real estate transaction. My tongue is very sore from biting it so much but I got news for both of them - as a co-owner they can't sell the house without my participation and thus far he's only got a signed contract from one of us. It did not have to be this difficult.

Laura - I'm glad your Mom is back. Are you going to look for another facility for her? Agreed that rehab is very important, especially with age but if she is not able to give it her all because of her situation, she probably requires one on one help. What you mentioned about rehab is true - they have always told us in P/T that you go until you feel you can't make any more progress because Medicare only pays for so many sessions. Not sure your Mom can decide that for herself so the therapists may have to decide for her. I hope it works out. Can your Mom use a rollator style walker to get some movement? That's easier than a stationary walker and if she can at least do a lap or two in the halls, it's helpful. Maybe you will have to take her to the pool! It's only the Monday after you posted so I won't nag you about signing up at the gym. Yet.

Shad - those purples are stunning. How pretty everything looks. Is there lots of sneezy pollen also? Hope things worked out in DS2's favor in court. Shame it had to wind up like that. Sounds like a very messy "divorce". I agree with Laura that it's funny to think of not planting for the summer when it's exactly what we look forward to here. But your summer means the garden just feeds the bugs so why bother?

Hello to the rest of you ladies

I have quite the mess to deal with here. The remodelling lady is right - you can stuff more things into a closet than a cabinet. And pulling things apart makes an even bigger mess. I am doing the keep / donate / trash sorting as I got through things and then going through the keep pile one extra time and pulling at least one thing out. This is going to be a terrible mess when they start and they said it will be that way for 1 - 2 months as the tile is delayed. It's produced here in the States so it's not like it's Italian tile on a ship in the ocean. Just a popular color so everyone wants is and production can't keep up with demand. I know I am going to be sorry several times that I ever entertained the thought of doing this. Would have been easier to sell and move! Anyway. I have taken care of this morning's crisis call. I need to eat something, hop in the shower and continue with my purging.

Take care everyone!

Evening all. Still waiting on something to come through on my work email so I can put a major project to bed today. Not sure how long I'll wait for it, but I've got a vacation day tomorrow and wanted to get it done today instead of logging in tomorrow to do it.

Nothing much going on with me. My mother's hip is healing well. She's still in rehab. My sister just learned her memory care facility is not equipped to handle her situation as she's a very high fall risk. She may be staying in the facility in which she's having her rehab. It's really an awful situation.

Happy - Do not envy you all the preparations you must make before your home projects get going. My friend D has had her house interior painted and she had to go through every room to move everything out of the way. Ugh. I'm getting the itch to have our interior re-painted. We don't even have an open concept layout and yet the living room is open to the dining room and hall, so all three would need it. But I guess it's different when you want all three painted. === Have you or DH gotten the awning work re-scheduled? === Sorry to hear that the realtor seems/is incompetent and you're probably stuck with him until the listing runs out?? And I just saw a news blurb that the real estate boom in our metro area is now over....I hope what this guy lacks in the responsiveness and details he more than makes up for in his sales skills.

Okay, the email I was waiting for has arrived, so I'm going to deal with it so my day off tomorrow is clear. TTFN!

Morning all,
Just getting this done before the rest of the day starts. DS2 and 2 dogs are now living with me and have taken over the 2 spare bedrooms so there will be not renovations done in there for the 3 or so weeks he stays with all his 'stuff'. It seems that between the two of them, I have raised a pack rat but she is worse. Why the heck would anyone want to keep shopping bags? They are cheap enough to buy new ones every so often. The mind boggles. It also seems Cairns may not be the last stop and she is mentioning Perth now. This could get interesting.

We're having a very busy start of the wet season. Storms practically everyday and a fair amount of hail (large ice stones at that) and we have even had a previously unheard of tornado or two. Mother Nature is becoming highly ticked off it seems. Still we desperately need the rain and the garden is looking bright and happy at the moment. Pulled out most of the tomato plants and made mustard pickles with the green ones and some passata with the ripe ones - along with some of the onions and garlic I grew as well. The corn is reaching maturity and we will have cobs very soon, the carrots and beetroot are about ready and they will be pulled out soon. Not sure what I will do with the beetroot. Much as I love it, there is too much there for me to eat on my own, so the neighbours and friends will get some - I can see some borscht soup coming up in my future.

Not much else news in my neck of the woods. Second dose of Covid vaccine coming up this week so that will be done and dusted. The dreaded virus is coming our way since our Government in it's wisdom has decreed that all States must open up to trade and visitors. Since it has swept NSW and VIC and devastated families and kept lockdowns active for months to no great effect as soon as we open our borders, the hoards will be here in droves along with their germs and viruses. I realise we can't stay shut forever and we do need to get back to work and somehow pull the population together again - it's a bit like herding cats really.

Them (otherwise known as the cockroaches (NSW) and the Mexicans (VIC) - they come from south of the border) from down there are already creating havoc with the real estate market and this will mean that local people will not be able to afford their own house soon. Of course the real estate agents are rubbing their hands. It means huge commissions for them. There are some very greedy people out there.

Unfortunately a lot of Queenslanders have not and will not have the vaccination so there are problems ahead. The vaccination does not mean you will not get the bug, however it will (apparently) lessen the impact of the virus. Now there is some talk of people who are not vaccinated being forced to continue to wear masks and will be not allowed in some places if they can't prove they have had it. Really? and how are shop keepers with no authority to bar some one from their shop going to know those are fully vaccinated. Oh yes another app on the phone which we are now all practically forced to carry. Sign in here, and here, and here. Sometimes I just can't understand those who refuse to either wear masks, check in to places and/or refuse to vaccinate. There is no thought given to those - old, incapacitated, unwell, or not financially viable to carry these expensive bits of plastic - lets all save the planet and ban plastic .

Okay, I'm off my and out to do some work before the next storm hits. I'm trying to clean out the shed and every time I get a load of cr*p out, the son moves some of his cr*p back in.

Look after yourselves, stay safe, stay smart and stay home.

Hello all. TGIF, and bonus - it's payday too. Otherwise, it's rainy and dreary the past couple days. Halloween is forecast to be dry and sunny, so

Mom's in her new memory care facility as of a few days ago. Same general geographic area as the previous one. My sister and BIL are moving some of her things from her old memory care place. I will join them finishing up tomorrow. Today they are having a junk service pick up mom's mattress and her dresser, both of which are old and were not in great condition. My sister's checking into a new bed - maybe a hospital bed. I found a replacement for the dresser online and bf and I will pick it up tonight. Tomorrow I'll meet a friend for breakfast. After that I'll be visiting my mom, helping with the move, and also dropping off the dresser. Nothing planned for Sunday, but trick or treat is from 2-7 pm, so we'll either hand out candy or leave it out in a bowl like we did last year.

Shad - I hope you're surviving having DS2, his gf, and the dogs as houseguests. I hope it's 3 weeks and not "or so" as I take that to mean even longer! Quite the disruption I imagine. == We ended the summer with a dry spell here, but now we're getting rain like you are there. The lawn is green again and I know it's a good thing to get this rain before winter sets in. Sure is gloomy though. == I haven't been watching much news lately but I guess there's now a "Delta+" variant?? I dunno. Our government is still trying to get people here to get vaccinated...and people are still refusing. Lately in Chicago it's been the police and firefighters pushing back against vax mandates, with the head of the police union stirring up trouble. Sigh. On the positive side, it looks like a vaccine for children will be approved in the near future. Personally, I'm paying more attention in a micro way - like my return to the office (RTO) in January. (More on that later.). I hope Queensland doesn't have a huge spike in cases. I should hope the powers that be over there learn from what has happened elsewhere.

I hope the rest of you are doing well.

I'm busy with work, but things should calm down a wee bit after this week.

I had a hair appointment last night. I'm scheduled for my next 5 appointments. All but one are on Thursdays, so when I RTO, that'll have to be one of my remote days for at least Jan-March because they are scheduled early evening and I can't make it home by then if I'm commuting that day.

As for preparing for the RTO.....we were just notified of the deadline to submit proof of vaccine to HR. I still need a flu shot. Definitely a booster covid shot. Have to order my train tickets pretty soon. I want to schedule out my in-office days before the boss decides to mandate additional specific days per week aside from the one day he already specified - each Wednesday when we have our weekly department meeting. Which is pointless IMO because it now ends up that three of us are hybrid employees (in-office & remote) and one is fully and permanently remote. So we'll still be having department meetings via video-conferencing. Whatever. Anyway, I want to plan out my schedule and my vacation days so I'm not at any point scurrying to make sure I'm complying with our 60% in-office policy. I'll probably sew more face masks for myself because I will need them. As for clothes...I gained no more than a couple pounds while working remotely these past 18+ months, so my clothes still fit. I don't need to shop for new ones, and if I do it won't be much.

I re-joined the gym last Friday but haven't been there since. I was disappointed that the open area for doing floor work on mats is gone - they used it to space out the cardio equipment. They don't even offer floor mats for the one tiny spot that could fit one. Oh well, I'm there mostly to use the rowing machine and other cardio equipment. That's at the one park district fitness center. I'll check out their other one sometime soon. The Pilates Barre Fusion class is going well. I can't remember when it ends, but I should decide soon if I want to sign up for the same class next session.

Okay, I'm gonna get this posted and get back to the grind. Have a good weekend everyone.

Hello Ladies,

I thought I posted something in October but I don't see it, so I am just getting in under the wire. I am going to try and post at least 2 times a week. I need my friends!


My PT is finished! I was advised I should go through the routine 3 times a week at home. We picked out certain ones that I should focus on if I have a day where I don't feel like I have the time for all of them. I am going to try to do this. It will be good for me and continue to help me to build strength.


I also want (and NEED) to get back to my AM 45 min of being on the recumbent bike or the treadmill, 5 times a week. I will begin that today but I did tell myself that I could do 30 min this week to get back into the groove.


I guess it's time to return to some kind of normal. This is my work from home week so I thought it would be a good week to start.


Laura: How did things go with moving your mom and her things to the New Memory care Facility? I like that you have your hair appointments set up for a few months out; that is a good way to take care of yourself. I have mine already in place so that they fall on the weeks that I work from home; I go on Wednesday evenings.


Now that my PT is over, I will be in the office every day every other week, BUT, I'm going to request every Thursday to work from home no matter the week, like I used to. One of the other Admin's is going in 2 days every week. That means she is in the office 8 days out of 4 weeks, and if I go in every other week for 5 days (based on 4 weeks) that is 10 days, so I'm going to request my Thursdays always be WFH days regardless of the week. That makes me in the office 8 days out of 4 weeks.


I like being home on Thursdays. It is my TOPS night and it is nice to not have to drive and come in right before the meeting starts. I am the Chapter Leader and I like to get there about 20 min early to get my weigh-in done and prepare to get the meeting started on time.


That is about it for now. I need to get off the computer and get ready to go to church.

Hi ladies,


Going to be a quick hello from me. Chaos here. They are coming tomorrow to start the laundry room and master bath renovations. It's incredible how much stuff you can store in cabinets and closets. I have been going through everything with the intention of touching stuff once. Sort - keep, trash or donate. It's very slow doing those things and I thought I had plenty of time but one of the things about pulling stuff out is that you don't have places to store it (hence the renovations to add more storage space). And there is stuff everywhere. It's like my house got shook upside down. I understand why my sister was so overwhelmed and freaking out going through my Mom's stuff. The good news on the remodelling is that our tile came in sooner than it was expected (3rd week of November) so this means instead of demolishing everything then going away for a while and coming back once the tile came in, they can now do the job start (tomorrow) to finish which is a big relief. I could have hugged the sales lady when she told me that on Saturday. So today will be chaos just pulling the last of the stuff out and putting it somewhere and being ready tomorrow first thing for the remodelers.


Speaking of my Mom's - we accepted an offer on the house. Someone viewed it the first day it got listed and offered us a lowball offer. 2 days later we had 4 offers on the weekend which resulted in several offers. Because of this we got a bit more than our asking price. We close on Thanksgiving Day here - or rather the day after. The only issue is that the buyer (who really wants the house) is going with a government loan (FHA) because it requires a much smaller downpayment than conventional bank loans. Not unusual. But FHA does an inspection prior to authorizing the loan and they are sticklers about certain things in the house being a certain way. For example, pull chain lights in the closet were not allowed. I am sweating it out about possible repairs that have to be made in order to get FHA approval. We bought our first house FHA when interest rates were 18% on houses and I swore I'd never do FHA again but the people buying homes in my Mom's neighborhood are looking for the low down payment so we understand. Will be nice to be done with it. My sister's mood improved a lot once we got an offer. The house needs updates but is solid and while I would not want to live in that neighborhood any longer, there is Target right across the street and a huge produce store 2 blocks down. It's 1 street away from public transportation (bus and a short bus ride to the subway). So it's a good location. The realtor had his team come in and do a deep cleaning and some small repairs and the place looks great. I am glad we got through this quickly although 3 days to an offer is a new record. We are not looking to make a killing on the house so we priced it appropriately and if you do that, things sell. Of course it's a seller's market right now so the timing was right.


DH got back from his Maine trip. He enjoyed the class but it was very crowded as are many places this summer with people wanting to get out and about. I am not at all interested in travelling at any capacity right now.


Susie - I'm glad you got your P/T done with. I can attest to the fact that keeping up with it is so important. After the dust settles here - literally, I want to get back to the pool to pick up with the P/T for my knees. It's a challenge when the cold weather is here but those exercises helped me to feel a lot better. I hope you and Laura can work out your work from home schedules in your favor.


Laura - hope your Mom is settled into her new home. You've had to do a lot of moving for her. That's got to be a challenge figuring out the train ticket with part working from home. My sister said Metra lost something like 96% of their riders. I figured they would be hoping people returned back to commuting again.


Annie - while cleaning, I found a spiral bound notebook you sent me of handwritten and favorite recipes. I plan on trying a few later on once things are calmed down. What a great idea!


Hello to Shad and Ceejay!


Well the morning is already running away from me so I'd better get this posted and get busy.