Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Good morning ladies,
Well the remodeller showed up yesterday afternoon. As in one guy, by himself. He said he used to have a crew but gave it up because it was such a pain having employees. I get that - it's a big problem up this way. Women are often single mothers so child care gets in the way or they party too hard the night before and can't do it if they are hung over. As for the guys, there is stoppage for fishing season, various hunting seasons and the occasional I partied too hard and am hung over too. All the construction people complain they could take at least twice as many jobs but not enough reliable people. We lost a lot of middle aged or older workers which hurts. B is a nice guy, quiet but works hard. He lives 90 minutes away so a long drive and he said he's not a morning person. I was expecting a crew and expecting this to go fast but he said he figures about 3 weeks for the job. He is working on one room at a time. Tore out the bath yesterday. Amazing how much room there is with the tub and closet and vanity and toilet taken out! There is a smell too that is mildly unpleasant from cutting apart dry wall and plastic. I would not want to breath that for a living. He got most of the walls out - guess today it will be finishing that and tearing out the existing tile and hopefully laying the subfloor. The plumber is coming out tomorrow - DH decided it was too complicated to put in the shower fixture himself. That's ok - I'd rather it be done properly than have to tear the new wall and tile out for a leak. DH is very good at what he does, he's just not comfortable with plumbing.
The cats are all freaking out over the noise and a "deadly stranger" in the house. LOL They get the night to calm down but I think 3 weeks of this will take it's toll on them.
I wish we could get this done faster but it is what it is. Other people used this guy and they said he is very good and very thorough so in the long run, this is better than a crew of guys who rush through things to get out of here and home for a beer each night. Give me meticulous and slow...
DH went off to give the shelter staff their new iPads. We have iPhones for them also as well as new laptops. I hope he keeps his temper - he is easily frustrated and they are not the easiest to work with so it makes for an explosive situation. I am hoping to not have to get involved ... yet. But my time is coming.
B just showed up so it's off to the races for me. Have a good one ladies.
Hi Susie – Yay for PT being finished!! How’s your shoulder feeling? Are you keeping up with doing all the exercises on your own? After I did PT for my back (when it got goofed up by walking in the boot after my foot surgery), I told myself to keep doing the exercises even though PT ended and my back once again felt fine. Did I? No. Should I? Of course! [Soapbox: I think that everyone should be doing core exercises, almost to the point that if you do nothing else, you should do core exercises!} I’m taking the Pilates Barre Fusion class right now, but it’s only one day per week. I recently wrote down all my PT exercises on an index card a couple weeks ago, but haven’t done them much recently. I don’t know about everyone else, but I miss the days of watching TV live and doing exercises during the commercials! Obviously I could exercise during the commercials on DVR’d shows, but definitely not during shows I watch with bf. We had to watch something on demand last week because it failed to record and bf couldn’t stop complaining about the commercials! == Have you gotten back into your morning cardio groove? I’m not back into my cardio groove at the gym. I got my membership on Oct. 22 – just over 2 weeks ago – and I’ve only worked out there twice. Last week was sort of weird, so I’ll try to get there more than once this week. == It’s kind of nice that your in-office schedule is every day of every other week. Our in-office schedule is 60% of the workdays each month. That’s about 3 days per week based on the average number of workdays in a given month, but they made a point that the requirement is based on the [i]month, not each week, which allows more flexibility. Taking into account that holidays and vacation days reduce the number of workdays in a given month, theoretically I could do what you do…except that my boss wants us in-office on Wednesdays. I’ll figure it out. But I do feel like bringing laptop and files back and forth will get to be a PITA. I will inevitably forget something at home or work. Let me know how it’s working for you now that you’re back to work.
You asked how things went moving my mom into the new memory care facility. It went well…but a week later she fell again. It just so happens my sister, BIL, and I were meeting with all the department heads at the facility (good meeting) and afterwards my sister and I headed to mom’s room to visit with her while my BIL was going to bring some more of my mom’s furnishings in from the car. My sister and I walked into her room to find two caregivers with her. She was in a lot of pain right then. Apparently she’d fallen in the middle of the night before. She was in pain that morning and someone had come out to take x-rays earlier. So horrible to see her suffering. Waiting for the x-ray results, the nurse on staff gave her some pain meds that helped. Mom was transported to the hospital that evening. She broke the top of the femur bone - on her other side this time. She had to have half-hip replacement surgery again. That was on Friday and went well. I visited her Saturday evening and she was awake and alert – so much better than she’d been after her first surgery. She was moved to the rehab center yesterday. I don’t know how her rehab will go this time around. It didn’t seem long enough last time and it will probably be the same this time. Medicare limits the length of rehab and we’ve been told that trying to appeal it is mostly futile. If she hadn’t fallen again, she would have continued with some type of PT at the memory care facility. My mom will certainly be in a wheelchair going forward, but we just don’t know how the caregivers/facility will keep her from trying to get up out of her bed or wheelchair. Which was what we were discussing with the nursing director right before we discovered mom had fallen again…This has been so awful for mom. I don’t wish this situation on anyone.
Happy – Sounds like chaos at your house! Your poor kitties! I hope they’ve become accustomed to all the noise by now. I think having only one person doing the work can be both a positive and a negative. No miscommunications between the crew. As long as you & DH are on the same page with him, it should be good. But what a commute your guy has! Good to get a plumber to do the shower fixture. Wish me luck – bf is installing a hot water circulator pump because in spite of our whole-house repipe and our new water heater, we still wait a long time for the water to get hot out of our full bathroom vanity faucet. The project requires both plumbing and electrical skills. Bf has both, but not plumber-level skills, and in an old house like ours, it just makes things more complicated. == Fingers crossed that your mom’s property sale goes smoothly and that the closing gets done on the date scheduled. I’m glad you found a buyer so quickly! I’ve heard that FHA loans are tough on the seller. I hope there aren’t any issues that throw a wrench into the closing. The FHA thing always reminds me of my HS friend S. When she and her husband were shopping for a house, it took a long time because they were buying with an FHA loan. I thought it was comical when she commented “I don’t know how people save that much for a downpayment [i.e., conventional loan with a 20% downpayment].” The reason I thought it was funny was that they both have good jobs and earn good money, but she is a huge shopper - a shopaholic really - and it was clear to me why it was so difficult for them to save for a downpayment. == I’ll be interested in seeing how many commuters I see on Metra come January. I hope the train capacity is still not back to pre-pandemic levels by then!!
Hellos to Shad, Annie and Ceejay! I hope you’re all doing well.
Aside from my mother’s issues, not much going on with me. Work is work, but my busiest time is past and things are more sane right now.
I had a colonoscopy on Friday. Prep was a PITA (literally, haha), but the procedure went fine. However…the doctor reported that she removed TEN (!) small polyps (vs. only one during my first colonoscopy five years ago) and took a biopsy from one larger polyp that she left in place. I’m waiting for news on if any of these were cancerous/pre-cancerous, and if the frequency of colonoscopies will change from once every five years to more frequently. If it does, I’ll certainly go along with it, of course, but I won’t be happy about it.
Not much else to report. The Pilates Barre Fusion class is going alright. The instructor is entertaining, but not particularly good with tips on proper form. Doesn’t bother me much since I’ve done enough exercise classes with good instructors to know proper form. That said, I’m open to seeking out other classes. I’m going to check into the park district’s fitness on demand classes. They’re on a certain day and time, so maybe that would work out for me. But I do wonder why they call them “on demand”…
Still here, will be coming up for air shortly - probably after my dentist appointment on Wednesday. Stay safe, stay well, stay home. This is not over yet.
Morning all,
Been a busy couple of weeks what with having the kid and the two dogs here on a semi permanent basis for 3 weeks. They've gone to Cairns now and seem to be happy enough up there. I miss them but hey, that's life, you miss your kids, but you can't keep them forever.
We've also had the Probus birthday party which went off well with 60 or so people attending including local councillors, state members of Parliament, federal members of Parliament and some newspaper people and some of the high ups from Probus and Rotary. Yes we will no doubt get our pictures in the local papers. The club is doing quite well under the circumstances and we are gradually growing again after the Covid outbreaks. It was a good day. I'd add some photos however as you all know I can't do that anymore. Doesn't work like it used to.
We are having some very wet and stormy weather. Parts of the State are underwater and hopefully it is going into the dams so we will have enough water again not to have to have restrictions. Where I am is not having water problems yet but we are promised more storms and plenty of rain for the next for weeks. It seems la Nina has arrived in force and after years of battling drought the farmers are getting some to make the grass grow and the plants survive. Lets just hope it isn't running off the hard baked earth.
Susie, I hope your shoulder is coming right now that you have finished the organised PT. Hope you are keeping up with it yourself. Also hope the WFH on Thursdays is working for you. Things need to get back to normal soon. Mind you, as people find out how much better it is to work from home, more and more will want to stay there. It's going to be hard for them.
Laura - I hope your mother is well settled into her new place now. It sounds like a horrible situation for her and for the family. Let's hope she heals well and can be mobile in or out of a wheelchair. I guess you have the colonoscopy reports back now. I am surprised that one large polyp was left in situ. Doesn't sound sensible to me. Mine is probably due at the end of next year. Not looking forward to that.
Happy - I presume the renovations are finishing up now. Seems like forever that you were talking about it. Sometimes it is best just to have one person working on the job. Know where to put the blame (if you know what I mean) but it sounds like the man is a good worker and a steady one. The kind I like to get hold of. So glad you got the offers on your Mums place. It's always a weight off the mind when that goes - otherwise you are left to get maintenance done, pay the rates, check the post and generally have to keep an eye on it and in your case it is some distance away. Didn't hear of any loud explosions from over your way, so I guess DH got the message across with the ipads and iphones.
Hiya Annie. hope you are well and keeping up with the family okay.
Gotta go. Several other bits and pieces to see to today. Some doco to be written for the Probus Club, some cleaning to do, some trips out to the garden when it isn't raining to try to tidy up a bit after the last storm. Have a great day
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with friends of ours. A lot of food and took home leftovers. We finished those tonight at dinner so I guess it is time to get back to normal for a few weeks.
I work the next two weeks and then beginning Dec 13 I am off work until Jan 3!
I will be coming back to something new.....it isn't announced yet and won't be until December 1, so please no messages on Facebook but I am so excited to share with you, that I interviewed for a Executive Assistant role (at P&G and at my current location) about 7 weeks ago and I have been offered the role! I am very excited!!\
That is about it for me. We had a nice weekend. We met another friend on Saturday and went to see the movie Gucci. I really enjoyed it. Lady Ga Ga was amazing in the movie. So much talent.
I am headed to bed but have been thinking of all of you and wanted to check in
Susie, glad you had a great Thanksgiving and congratulations on the promotion - you deserve it, but now I guess you will be working harder and longer than ever. How is your husband doing in retirement?
It's all go here at the moment, I have the DS2 and partner down for the mediation session with his former witch - oh dear I spelt that wrong. Geez she must hate him a lot to give him the grief he is currently under, not to mention the stress.
We had the Probus 3rd birthday party on the 16th which seems to have gone down well with the members and I have been schmoozing with politicians - which doesn't excite me that much although those ones didn't seem too bad although they were on opposite sides of the fence. Now we have the Christmas party coming up but I don't have to do anything about organising that thank heaven.
The garden is tailing off, I still have the odd tomato coming up and the onions are ready for harvest as is the corn. Then the whole vegetable patch will be put to bed.
We have had a deluge of rain here in the past week, flooding out west and coming this way. But at least our dams are being slowly filled with some of them overflowing for the first time in years. There is a promise of more later this week.
I'm about to head out for breakfast with my brother shortly. He has just recently more or less retired. He's still doing casual work for the company but that's few and far between at the moment.
Christmas is coming up fast, too fast. I still haven't worked out what to get for the granddaughter. I have a few small things tucked away but I think I will end up giving her some money. She will probably squander it on toys or something but what the heck. I gave it to her, she can spend it on what she likes. I have no idea on what is happening over Christmas here, the kids will be back in Cairns next week and I can't go to Adelaide to the other family since they are having a covid regeneration - not the new virus out but bad enough. So if I go down there, there is a chance I won't get back. And I don't have anyone to feed and look after the cat anyway. So another year will go past without seeing her. That's 2 1/2 years now - far too long even with skype, whatsapp, and messenger sessions once in a while.
And that's about it from me. Better get ready to go to breakfast, then come back to do some weeding, mowing and tidying in the yard and hoping to hear that this nightmare with the witch is over.
I’m so glad it’s Friday. I had six days off over Thanksgiving including Monday, so it was a shorter work week, but it still felt long. I’m using up vacation days, so I’m taking this Monday off too. Yay for that.
Hi Shad. You must miss your son and the dogs now that they live out of town. Sounds like your work with Probus is keeping you busy! Sorry you can’t get out to visit your other son and his daughter. Travel still seems to involve a lot of uncertainty, that's for sure.
Susie – Congratulations on your new position! So one more week of work and you’ll be off for a couple – sounds great. I hope you enjoy your time off and are well-rested and ready for all the new stuff you’ll be learning and doing in your new role. Shad asked what I’ve been meaning to ask – how’s your hubbie doing now that he’s retired – he’s nearly at the one year mark now, right?
Happy – Are the renovations done yet? How did the closing on your mom’s home sale go?
Hi Annie. Hope all is well with you.
~~
My mother’s cognitive state continues to decline and it’s difficult to see. My bf’s mother is no longer comfortable living alone, so she chose to give up her apartment to live with her daughter/bf’s sister. The move was on Monday. BF and his sister aren’t getting along. I hope they work out their issues and focus on making sure their mother has what she needs.
I’m not doing much of anything socially, though I did go to dinner and a painting party with friends last Saturday. That was fun.
I go to an exercise class on Monday evenings and I make it to the gym for cardio once a week. I should go more frequently, but I haven’t managed that yet. I might register for two exercise classes in the session that starts in January.
Okay, I’ll get this posted and finish out my work week. Take care everyone.
Afternoon all,
Did I ever tell you how much I hate summer here? Heat, flies, bugs, humidity, storms we get the lot. It's hard to keep cool. Actually the storms I don't mind too much since they cool down the place, water the garden, fill the water tanks and look spectacular. The big German Shepherd baby didn't like them one little bit and kept climbing onto my knee and snuggling in which made life hotter than ever.
Anyway:
Laura - Actually I don't miss the dogs as much as I thought I would - even tho' I still get up early in the morning ready to take them for a walk. So I just go for one myself while it isn't too hot to be outside. I'm sorry to hear that your mother is sliding down the cognitive scale. It's a hard thing to watch. At least B/F's mother knew she wasn't okay at her place and I hope she settles in with the family. That's not an easy thing either.
Things have quietened down here and I don't have to worry about Probus until 17th December when we have our Christmas Party. And I don't need to worry too much about that either since I am not organising it, but I do have to take the raffle prizes with me when I go next week. We have new neighbours next door finally and they and a contractor spent all day yesterday and much of this morning trying to tame the grass. I haven't met them yet. It'll happen sometime I guess.
The garden is finished apart from the onions - some late sprouting garlic and the herb bath. I've dug it over, fertilised and mulched it so it will sit there now until February when I start to plant again. I've got some edging to do out there and have to re - gravel the paths but that will wait until it cools down a bit. 32C (90F+) is not good to be out there at the moment.
The son came down last weekend to go to mediation with his ex. Didn't turn out well. He is saddened by it, but there are some plans afoot to force her to work it out. I just hope it is soon. Have to laugh, she qualified as a lawyer, but was told by the tribunal that she should get legal representation as she is not up to date with where the law is. Bet that upset her.
This coming week, our state borders reopen to the rest of Australia and the world. With it will come the virus. We have been virtually covid free up here for the past two years, but the power of money is now too great and we have to open up. My area is probably fairly safe as we are not a tourist destination but I will not be going anywhere near the Gold Coast (that reminds me, I should ring my brother - he's in a hot spot) or Brisbane City. I have been double vaccinated so I am okay to go anywhere, however those who haven't been vaccinated are barred from a lot of places. In my opinion this is discrimination. Not everyone seems to agree with me and that's okay - we all have our thoughts and worries - at least that is still free. However so much stuff is now appearing on mobile phones and there are a lot of older people who A: don't have one, B: can't use or understand them, C: have underlying conditions that mean they can't be vaccinated and several other things that spring to mind. Like the lack of testing on some of these vaccines - who knows what they may do to the body. If we are discriminated against with this, why not mandate the flu vaccine - everyone goes to work and sneezes and coughs over the staff and they all come down with it. It is however (over here anyway) the 18 to 35 age group who are mostly resisting and some religious organisations - the lord will provide and all that. And it is interesting to note, we have lost 100 police personnel since the government mandated double dosing for all its staff and management. There has also been an exodus from the health department, and now it is the turn of the teachers - several of whom have resigned. I am losing my dentist - the best one I have had in years. Staff are resigning from office work places. What are all these people going to do? Mow lawns? Turn to crime to make a living? Get the unemployment??????
Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now.
Anyway, I had better get on with some more work. Always something to do. I have to get the granddaughter's parcel away by Monday to ensure it gets to her so I'd better get on with that and then patch up some holes in the walls (where there used to be lights and/or power switches). So stay safe, stay home, stay well. Take care.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Hi Ladies,
I am terribly sorry I have not posted in so long. Part of the thing is we aren't as regular as we once were so out of sight, out of mind...
It's been a busy and hectic time - quite stressful too. The sale of my Mom's home started out quick (accepted an offer 3 days after listing it) but has been a bungle since then. There was some miscommunication and frankly I am more anal about details and professionalism than others and apparently that's expecting too much nowadays. And then there were issues with the work on the renovations. They had to replace the shower valve that regulates the flow of water and the temperature 3 times because it was dripping and it's still a very fine micro adjustment to get the water warmer but not scalding. Still I am happy with the new shower all in all - the rainhead is quite nice - soft water feeling if you can imagine. The job took 5 weeks instead of 2 to 3. We are still waiting on countertops and 2 more cabinets but I am beginning to put things back in place again. I love the new cabinets. I was afraid I'd have less storage and that's not entirely the case but what I do have is easier to access. I love the look of the new laundry room. Gray is very trendy now - I got rid of gray cabinets and went to hickory wood and white walls. It's more open, spacious and bright. DH just put under cabinet lighting over the washer and dryer. The lighting and wood is so soft and peaceful I want to move in there full time! Even if I have to fold laundry LOL. Besides the aggravation of many things there is also the stress of my house upside down in total chaos. As I put things back I am going slowly, thinking about what I really need up here and not just shoving things into cabinets. It's a slow process. Oh and my refrigerator broke. The fan was noisy, called for a service appointment on Nov 2 - can't get anyone to come out before Nov 29. The excuse everyone is using about not enough employees except Sears has been saying this for 11 years since I moved into this house and had service contracts with them on my appliances. Before they came out a man called a week before, asked some questions and ordered a part in advance of the repair visit. Turns out he had the wrong model and ordered the wrong part. I don't know how he got the model wrong as the information is all on the specific warranty contract. We have often muttered the phrase "does ANYONE know or do anything right nowadays??". There was a big frost build up on the back of the inside refrigerator behind the produce drawers. So he pulls everything out and steams off the frost leaving a big slushy mess on the bottom of the refrigerator. Then he goes and stares at his phone and says "are you going to clean this up??" I thought that's why I paid YOU. So DH and I clean it up. He removes the noisy fan and can't get out of my house fast enough. I notice the refrigerator is not cooling down AND there is an indicator light that the doors are not closed which will start to give an annoying loud beep if ignored. He tries to leave and I tell him his ISN'T DONE YET. He finally figures out the problem with the door indicator and the interior lights not working. I ask about the cooling and he says we had the refrigerator shut off for a while and it will take time to cool which I think is a stinky WRONG answer but I can't prove otherwise. 4 hours later I notice my refrigerator will not cool below 50 degrees F - it should be cooling to 34 degrees. Fortunately I removed the really perishable items in there but still had some jars of stuff and some produce. I try to get the repair back in but they won't do a thing until the parts come in. I do have a small refrigerator in the basement but it's annoying to keep tromping up and down the stairs to get a bit of creamer for my coffee or milk for breakfast 10 times a day so I make DH go out and buy a compact refrigerator. He said he wanted a small one in the garage to keep cold beverages in over the summer while he was working outside so we can re-deploy this. It works out well for it's purpose and it keeps the beverages really cold which DH likes a whole lot. Meanwhile refrigerator is not cooling and by doing some research I find that the part the repairman removed is what regulates the temperature - you need that part to cool the refrigerator down and it kicks in the defrost so you don't get ice build up. The dummy never told me about this in his hurry to leave as fast as the Tasmanian Devil so it's a good thing I removed most of the perishable stuff from the refrigerator although I still lost stuff. Parts came in early this week and I tried to reschedule my service call to an earlier time but the phones are having issues and the website is down. 2 days later I finally get in and they can't possibly reschedule before December 27. Not sure how I am supposed to have a Christmas Dinner. Fortunately this doesn't affect the freezer because I have a freezer full of expensive Alaskan fish and no where to put it if the entire unit conked out. So this long and arduous story about the refrigerator has pretty been my life these past 2 months on anything I endeavor to do. The only bright light is that my sister and I got a mystery letter the other day regarding a cousin of ours who passed away 2 weeks after my Mum. She and her sisters never married or had children and she left her estate to her sister who passed away recently from Covid complications. The cousins were next in line for the inheritance so this was a shocking surprise to us. She doesn't have much - a home and who knows what else because she lived clear across the country. It's going through probate now. Don't know what I will get after splitting it 6 ways but anything is welcome and I will try and do right by her memory. Everything else is a stinkpot and I am eagerly awaiting closing out this disruptive year and heading into 2022. Just hope it's not another bullet train speeding towards us. Oh and DH was dealing with some gout like symptoms in his feet. They ruled out gout, a stress fracture, rheumatoid arthritis - all the bad things. But they put him on a very expensive medicine ($300 a month). It will take 6 weeks to see if this works. Besides being expensive it also has lots of dreadful side effects. He didn't want to take it but I said what is pain relief worth to you?
Laura I am sorry to hear of your mother's decline. My sister and I realize we dodged a big bullet with my Mom had she lived with the condition she had. That is a pity with BF and his sister - as you say they need to work together for the good of Mom. As you know yourself caretaking is difficult but made easier if you have help from your sibling(s). Are you back to part time in the office or still able to work from home yet? How did it feel going back to commuting again? Feel like you lost a big chunk of your day?? That's nice you are still keeping up with the exercise classes. They opened a new one for seniors across town but I haven't been able to leave the house to get over there to try it. I am thinking too of getting new tires on my car so I will be more comfortable driving in the snow. The contractor said he almost slid in a ditch coming down my road after a snowfall but we think he was driving too fast and he drives his trucks to the ground and then dumps them so probably has bald tires. Still I had to see winter driving and the early darkness.
Susie - congratulations on your new position! I hope you will be happy with it. Is this similar work you were doing before just with a new management team? How is your shoulder coming along?
Annie - I am sorry to hear of the medical issues with your son's partner. Bummer that will last the entire pregnancy. Hope she and the baby will come through this alright. Your Christmas pizza party sounds like a lot of fun. I got a bag of shrimp from Alaska which I am saving for either Christmas or New Year's. Something special. How's your job coming along?
Shad - gosh that is awful with your son and his former partner. Sounds like an ugly divorce. Unless there is abuse why can't you just part ways when things aren't working out, divvy things up and walk away. I hope that DS doesn't get burned - usually the next girlfriend suffers because of the witch. That's unfortunate about not seeing your granddaughter either - I felt that way with my Mom. Was feeling guilty that so much time passed - most of which we couldn't do anything about but still you miss them. How old is little Miss now? Must be not a kid but a young lady. I see Probus is taking up quite a lot of your time. I was reading an interview with the First Lady Jill Biden and she said that being First Lady is more than a job, it's a lifestyle you live since you are constantly on call with high expectations. That perfectly described volunteering to me.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Started working on a response yesterday and as usual, got distracted away. Then I could not post - the usual - your form can't be submitted, yah yah yah. Quick reply not working either. And since then you have responded also Shad.
I am freezing, you are chasing flies and sweat - neither is pleasant. Hurray for spring and autumn, right? So does DS ex partner think she is more cocky because she studied law? What an ugly experience. I join your rant on the Covid thing. We have many up here who won't get shots and we have been in the red zone for months. The healthcare staff is tired, overburdened and had enough. The vast majority of patients in the hospitals are unvaccinated which means they could prevent this. I say if you don't have a proper exemption then just turn them away at the door with a tube of horse worm paste and don't overburden the system. These needless patients are driving up the cost of our healthcare because not only are they taking hospital beds but also they are stalling elective surgeries so the patient suffers twice - they have to put off their surgeries and the hospitals lose the business they actually get funding on. So tired of these people and that's MY soapbox rant.
DH has gout like symptoms in his foot and he is carrying on and on. Everything I suggest is no, no, no yet he complains. Ah Tis the season of "Man Flu" where no one suffers like a man does. LOL
Hello to Ceejay and with that I will post and get on with other things. Take care everyone.
Shad - I hope you can stay cool, and that the storms don’t cause any damage. We are in meteorological winter now, but just last week there were severe storms and tornados to the south of our region (KY, IN, etc.) that caused damage and some deaths. The weather is just so strange now. As for me…I’m trying not to feel negative about our coming winter weather, and it’s not horrible at the moment, and also because I don’t have to commute to work in it….yet. I go back to the office in January, so I guess that’s when I’ll complain. == I hope the Probus Christmas party is enjoyable and that you’re not too busy making it enjoyable for others so you can enjoy it too! == Sorry the mediation isn’t going great. I hope it ends soon. So the ex doesn’t practice law, or is she just not up on the latest in this particular area of it…yes, being advised to get representation is probably a real burn for her. == I hope things don’t turn bad as things open up in your part of the world. I have an appointment next week for my covid booster. I also need a flu shot, but didn’t make it when I made my booster shot appointment. Of course now I’m kicking myself because I couldn’t edit my appointment to add it in the pharmacy’s system. I might go to the pharmacy and ask if they can do it while at my booster appointment without a formal appointment, but I have a feeling it might not be possible –inventory and all that. As for the flu – it does kill people too, so I do wonder what the threshold is in terms of mortality rates… == As for the labor shortages, I just don’t get it. Is everyone still getting government assistance of some sort? It can’t last forever!
Happy – Sorry your mom’s home sale had issues. And same as to your reno, but it sounds like that’s near the finish line now. I’m glad you’re happy with it. But oh how frustrating the fridge issue must be, and infuriating! I hope it’s all rectified by the end of the month. So sad about how it all ended for Sears, and this surely leaves a bad taste in your mouth even though it’s all subcontracted out for this appliance warranty/repair stuff. I found three HVAC companies to potentially do our winter and summer check-ups, but bf ended up using a subcontractor that Home Depot works with. So we get the cheap intro price…but what about next time? I wanted to develop a relationship with a new company. We’ll see how that works out. As for this appointment - they rescheduled once and were finally here today. It was fine, except we do have some cracks in our heat exchanger, so we’ll be installing a new furnace during the off-season! BF said our old HVAC guy reported hairline cracks the last time, or time before that, but I didn’t recall that. Our furnace has 18 years on it, so I guess it’s time! == I hope DH’s feet feel better! == I return to the office on January 10th as a hybrid employee, which for our company means working 60% of the workdays in-office. I hope the trains are still light on commuters at that point.
Annie – Saw your post on FB about your son’s gf’s pregnancy issues. I hope mom and baby will get through this with the best possible outcomes.
Susie – You’re on vacay now, so I hope you’re enjoying your well-deserved time off.
Hi Ceejay!
I don’t have all that much to report. Mom’s settled in at the new memory care – been there about a month now? They are keeping a close eye on her, so my sister hasn’t hired a separate person to keep watch overnight. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Otherwise, this place seems to provide better care.
Work is work. I’m using up several vacation days and still carrying over the max of 5 days into next year. I will definitely take some sort of vacation next year, even if it’s just me doing a solo trip of some sort. My friend D is still with the bf no one likes and I have no idea if she’s still considering a move to AZ. No plans for Christmas. The family is really just me, mom and my sister now. Haven’t heard anything from my nephew, but saw that his dearly departed mom’s house was listed for sale. I don’t know if we’ll see much of him in the future as he grew up in TX and his life is there.
Okay, gonna get this posted and see what’s for dinner. Speaking of…in lieu of holiday parties, my employer now let’s us choose a gift online. Last year my choice was a back massager, this year the selections were not as robust and I chose a mini air fryer. It might be fun to experiment with the air fryer. Both our big oven and our toaster oven both have convection options that we don’t use– and which I understand to be essentially the same as an air fryer. Maybe this air fryer will also get us thinking of making use of those convection features!
This is my first week of vacation and the time has flown by already. All the Christmas presents have been ordered and I think I am only waiting on two to arrive. I know that there is also one that want get here until after Christmas. It is ok it is for one of my nieces and there are other gifts for her to open. She will be ok being one gift short.
Annie: I need to go look at Facebook because I missed the information about the issue with your son's girlfriend and their baby. I am praying for them all.
Happy: That fridge has been a thorn in your side for quiet awhile. I am sure you will never buy that brand again. It would be ok if you got good service with the repairs but it doesn't sound like they can get the right either. I hope your DH's feet are getting better. Men are not good at not feeling well.
Shao: I hope it will cool down some more for you so it isn't as miserable. Hopefully your son's issues with the separation moves along fairly quickly so everyone can get back to some peace.
Laura: We got our booster shots yesterday. Doing ok with them. DH feels great. I am a little tired and when they gave me the shot it burned like crazy...but overall not to bad.
We are going to go to my brothers this afternoon/evening to hang out with my nephews so that he and his partner can go to a company Christmas party. The boys are now 12 and almost 11 (in March for the 11 yrs old). I'm sure we will have dinner at LaRosa's Pizza or Olive Garden (those are were they like to go) and then we will watch them play their video games (they love for us to do that; I usually fall asleep! lol) and maybe a movie. I feel so fortunate that they love for us to come and hang out with them and we love being with them.
Morning all,
Short note as I have a lot to do today and knowing me I will only last until midday and then collapse in a chair and watch some mindless tv. probably through the back of my eyelids.
Hope you all had a very good Christmas. And New Year is coming up fast so have a good one. Take care to protect yourself from whatever happens to be going around at the time and I hope that 2022 will be a bit better than 2021. I could say Peace on Earth, goodwill to all men, but there are a few of them out there I wouldn't mind harming - possibly fatally.
I'm not planning for anything special this year. I will watch the fireworks from New Zealand and Sydney. New Years day will be okay to see the rest of them.
Ruger the dog appears to be doing well up in Cairns. Yesterday I got some photos where he was kayaking on the harbour with his dad. He looked happy about that. DS2 seems to be pretty happy about his new life and it seems there maybe some resolution on the horizon from his split with his ex. I'm certainly hoping so, it will allow him to relax and recuperate from a pretty horrible time.
Anyway. I'm off to clean the bathroom, wash down the walls in the hall (it has the marks on it from ball playing and dog shaking after a shower and then I will decide where to put the family photos and hang them up finally all in the one place. Then I need to have breakfast, clean up outside after the wild weather last night, and dig over the last part of the vegetable patch, fertilise and mulch it ready for planting in February. Yahoo, summer is almost done, although January and February are generally the hottest, most humid months. It hasn't been too bad so far, although temps are up and down and at last we are getting a wet season. All we need now is for covid to buzz off and we will be in paradise - well close to it maybe
Hello my Friends!
Here we are December 30 and I keep thinking "were did the year go?" I used to journal and I when I did I felt that I filled my days with things that I wanted to capture and I could look back on the year. I am going to attempt this again in 2022.
I have really enjoyed my 3 week vacation time off from work. I have purged some items, I am reading a book, and I have napped whenever I wanted to. That all feels like success to me!
I wish you all a very Happy New Year for 2022.
I know that we all don't come here as often, but I am planning to do better with that. I'm telling myself at least 3 times a week. It is good that we can all see each other on Facebook and keep up there as well, but I feel like we really can "talk" here a little more deeper and carefree, so I like to come here and "visit"
I am going to keep this short as I need to sit down and pay the bills. DH is napping on the couch and I think I will do the same in about an hour. After that I will either purge 3 totes in the garage of winter things that I didn't wear last year and don't believe I will wear them again this winter (they just are a bit tight) and really, when, (not if!) I get back into that size I will want new things!
But my time is coming. 
hope you are well and keeping up with the family okay.
now.
We have often muttered the phrase "does ANYONE know or do anything right nowadays??". There was a big frost build up on the back of the inside refrigerator behind the produce drawers. So he pulls everything out and steams off the frost leaving a big slushy mess on the bottom of the refrigerator. Then he goes and stares at his phone and says "are you going to clean this up??" I thought that's why I paid YOU. 
So DH and I clean it up. He removes the noisy fan and can't get out of my house fast enough. I notice the refrigerator is not cooling down AND there is an indicator light that the doors are not closed which will start to give an annoying loud beep if ignored. He tries to leave and I tell him his ISN'T DONE YET. He finally figures out the problem with the door indicator and the interior lights not working. I ask about the cooling and he says we had the refrigerator shut off for a while and it will take time to cool which I think is a stinky WRONG answer but I can't prove otherwise. 4 hours later I notice my refrigerator will not cool below 50 degrees F - it should be cooling to 34 degrees. Fortunately I removed the really perishable items in there but still had some jars of stuff and some produce. I try to get the repair back in but they won't do a thing until the parts come in. I do have a small refrigerator in the basement but it's annoying to keep tromping up and down the stairs to get a bit of creamer for my coffee or milk for breakfast 10 times a day so I make DH go out and buy a compact refrigerator. He said he wanted a small one in the garage to keep cold beverages in over the summer while he was working outside so we can re-deploy this. It works out well for it's purpose and it keeps the beverages really cold which DH likes a whole lot. Meanwhile refrigerator is not cooling and by doing some research I find that the part the repairman removed is what regulates the temperature - you need that part to cool the refrigerator down and it kicks in the defrost so you don't get ice build up. The dummy never told me about this in his hurry to leave as fast as the Tasmanian Devil so it's a good thing I removed most of the perishable stuff from the refrigerator although I still lost stuff. Parts came in early this week and I tried to reschedule my service call to an earlier time but the phones are having issues and the website is down. 2 days later I finally get in and they can't possibly reschedule before December 27. Not sure how I am supposed to have a Christmas Dinner. Fortunately this doesn't affect the freezer because I have a freezer full of expensive Alaskan fish and no where to put it if the entire unit conked out. So this long and arduous story about the refrigerator has pretty been my life these past 2 months on anything I endeavor to do. The only bright light is that my sister and I got a mystery letter the other day regarding a cousin of ours who passed away 2 weeks after my Mum. She and her sisters never married or had children and she left her estate to her sister who passed away recently from Covid complications. The cousins were next in line for the inheritance so this was a shocking surprise to us. She doesn't have much - a home and who knows what else because she lived clear across the country. It's going through probate now. Don't know what I will get after splitting it 6 ways but anything is welcome and I will try and do right by her memory. Everything else is a stinkpot and I am eagerly awaiting closing out this disruptive year and heading into 2022. Just hope it's not another bullet train speeding towards us. Oh and DH was dealing with some gout like symptoms in his feet. They ruled out gout, a stress fracture, rheumatoid arthritis - all the bad things. But they put him on a very expensive medicine ($300 a month). It will take 6 weeks to see if this works. Besides being expensive it also has lots of dreadful side effects. He didn't want to take it but I said what is pain relief worth to you? 
