Hello All...

Susie...hope you are feeling better by now. Covid is not joke. I had it before all the vaccines and such when it first started. Yikes it was awful.

SHADDIE...I see you are dealing with covid, rain, floods and what not. Holy cow hunker down woman.

HAPPY...thank you for not adding me to the post a picture thing on FB. I don't do them and it seems to disappoint those that do.

CEEG...my dad lived with COPD for years. It got awful at the end of life for him. Of course he was 86 when he passed, so there is that.

LAURA...just have to be patience with momma. I know it is hard but you will be glad you did later on down the road. Hugs sis.

Morgan has made it to week 37. I think they are going to get their C section date today at the docs office. They have made it clear they are not telling anyone anything until after the baby gets here. Whatever. I tell you, kids sure treat their parents differently then they did when I was a kid. Some times I just want to wring both my kid's necks. His name will be Jaxtyn Lee. He seems to be doing ok and producing amniotic fluid like he should and the swelling in the kidneys seem to be getting better. The numbers are better but not where they should be.

Work is great. I am fatter than ever. Still fighting with IRS, but MAYBE making headway...a little. We have to claim capital gains on 2021 taxes due to the sell of Cs house and it not being his primary place of residence. So yeah, taxes on 100,000. dollars. Makes my stomach hurt thinking of what we will have to pay in taxes this time. Like 30K in taxes. Prayers welcome.

Best get back to work, my 15 minute lunch is almost over, by choice so I can get off at 4 every day.

Miss you all,

Hello!
Last Saturday, I wrote a lovely and informative post, I did it all from my phone and hit send and nothing posted. I wanted to yell and scream but instead, I just shut the phone off and didn't pick up any electronics until Monday.

Let me do personals first.

Annie: It is lovely to see a post from you. You and your family are in my prayers, especially that little boy. I'm praying for a miracle for him. Yikes about the taxes ! But what can you do.....maybe the IRS will give you some leniency with the amount...you know like hospitals do. Prayers up for this one girl!

I am glad you like your job; and I am with you on the short lunch break, I take 30 min so that I can leave at 4:30. That gets me home around 5:10 and (do to my commute) but I have so much more time at home to relax.

Ceejay: I hope you didn't get to sore and bruised up from your fall.

Shad: I haven't checked your weather forecast in a few days, hopefully the rains have subsided. Our forecast for next week shows multiple days of rain. I hate driving in it and also having to get from the parking lots into the building. It's a trek and in the rain, no fun and a bit tricky...because I have my computer bag, my purse, my lunch bag, carrying my umbrella.

Happy: It is fun seeing your pictures you post on Facebook. When I look at old pictures, I always think...why did I think my hair was so cute and why did I think I was fat? 80's hair was a force to be reckoned with and I weighed 150 lbs in the 80's! lol

Laura: How are you doing with the planking? I was very happy to hear that your work incentive was a good one.

I went back to the office this week on Monday and worked all week. I still test positive when I take a Covid test but since I did the 10 days quarantine and I have no new symptoms, I am clear as far as Covid protocol standards. I was told I could be positive for 100 days!

Other than the sinus issues I had at the beginning, and that was better after I stared the meds my doctor prescribed, my Covid symptoms were nausea and just feeling tired. I did lose 17 lbs! I am now logging my food again and getting a 30 work out in Saturday-Wednesday in. During the week, since I leave on time and I'm not working when I get home (I made a personal decision that I was not going to work every night when for an hour or so anymore, unless some big meeting was taking place) . So I come home, change my clothes when I get home, get in the workout room, get it done and enjoy the rest of my evening with my DH.

I believe being vaccinated and that it was most likely the Omnicom version help me to not be so sick. This time last year, my friend Molly was in the worst of it and that was such a scary time.

We got good news at work yesterday about 3 p.m. that starting Monday, we will not have to wear masks all day in the office or have temperature checks coming into the building. They will leave the social distancing in place and they are not mandating everyone back in the office yet. It will be decided by your Manager and your own personal case.

They did tell us that all that can change if there is a surge in cases and this will be the way it it is for a while. You are welcome to wear a mask if you feel that you need to.

We are going to have a beautiful day here in Ohio today. Our temperature with be in the 70's with sunshine. My niece Layna, is a Senior this year and this is her final theatre performance. She has the lead in "Newsies" and is so very excited. I am looking forward to watching her perform tonight.

I am looking forward to end of May beginning of June when we will be in Las Vegas with my friend from Denmark and he husband. We booked everything last week and it is nice to have something to look forward to.

I have a little bit of housework to do today; DH does most of it now but he won't dust.

Afternoon everyone,
We are slowly drying out down here, however it doesn't help that we are getting large, loud and damaging thunderstorms complete with more rain and hail and apparently even a tornado up north. This does hamper the cleanup operations. The Federal Government have finally relented and let the armed forces do some work and clean up all along the Eastern Seaboard. Sydney is still underwater with no relief from the rain in sight yet, but at least the rest of the State and here in Queensland we can breathe easy again, although we are not home and dry yet.

It's nearly time to plant out the garden again. I might wait until we are sure the rain has gone, but if I leave it too long, the soil will dry out and I'll have to water again. Never happy, us gardeners.

Susie - I well remember what it is like to be laden down like a pack mule and have to carry an umbrella as well. I don't miss those days.
I'm so pleased for you that the time of Covid infection helped you to lose weight. Has to be some silver linings somewhere doesn't there? It's great not to have to wear masks isn't it? We had that restriction lifted last week, what a relief. What a lovely thing to look forward to - friends from abroad and a trip away from home.

Annie - congratulations on becoming a granny again. It must be a welcome thing to have that pregnancy over and done with. Hope the little one is fit and well. Maybe they will think about vaccination now to protect both them and the little one. However don't suggest it, since we don't know anything about having kids - or so we are told from time to time.
Great that you like your job, but I don't envy you on the tax thing. What a holy mess.

Humidity is rising as I sit here on the computer. Guess we will get some more rain tonight. One just hopes it isn't the violent variety like we have had recently.

Not much more to add, better go out and check the laundry and see what's dry and what isn't. Then I might go out and repot a few more plants and I see that even though I mowed the lawn last Friday, it is ready to be mowed once more. So that sorts out most of the afternoon. But first comes afternoon tea. Then I will go out. The cat refuses to go out the front since there is a butcher bird out there that attacks him. He is not a fighter.

Hi everyone,


I am so so sorry for not posting. Can't tell you how many times I started a post and didn't get to finish it. This site is wonky acting too. Life has been very busy since the beginning of the year for me. We had to have part of the tile taken out from the bathroom remodel and done over because he did a very bad job with that and the caulking. He fixed it - looks much better but the project extended into February (from it's November start that was supposed to take 2 weeks - hahahahaha). I have taken 3 classes so far - one of them on Chronic pain just ended last week. Did not really learn anything to help me. The nutrition one continues for a year - sigh - again, nothing I don't already know and honestly, it's a pain doing a Zoom class with elderly people. The exercise one was good - it ends next week so I will probably pick up another senior class she is doing. I am limited with intensity because of my knee. The shot I got a couple of weeks ago helped just a tiny bit but I know now and this is also true with cortisone - that nothing will help the bone on bone situation and pain and mobility issues other than knee replacement. I'n going to have to find a surgeon who will operate on me at this weight. I am still committed to losing weight and will be but no way with I get to the weight most of them want me at in the condition I am in now. It was good getting into the habit of regular exercise again. I can see an improvement over the last 10 weeks so that's encouraging. We are trying to get through winter here - DH is antsy to get out but we still have at least another 2 months of winter ahead. I continue to have issues with my refrigerator. It's not the refrigerator as much as the repair guy doesn't know what he's doing and it takes so long to get things fixed. He breaks something else each time he comes to do a repair. I need to start the fight to get them to replace it totally.


I am getting new furniture in 2 weeks which means I need to buckle down and get ready for that - clearing some things out, shampooing the rugs, etc. Looking forward to the new furniture. Need to get booties for the cats' claws LOL.


Time just seems to be racing by far too quickly. The day is over before I know it. I have been trying to get more sleep - been going to bed at 2am and the cats wake me at 5:30am. That's not good. I think it affects the weight loss too.


Anne - congratulations on the new grandbaby. Seems to have been a very complicated pregnancy and delivery and possible issues afterwards. Hope all goes well for them going forward - I do hear you on the kids not listening thing. Makes me glad I didn't have any, especially if they'd be as stubborn as DH and I are. I'm really glad you are liking your job, but I'm so sorry that life always seems to challenge you when it comes to taxes and things. You are too good a person to deserve so many woes.


Shad, it's good to hear that things are finally drying out. Those floods were devastating. The weather sure is topsy turvy. Just hope the rain washed the bugs away also. DH bought me a lovely orchid for Valentine's Day but it is definitely not happy with me as a caretaker. I am not overwatering it. The few blooms we got were very pretty but I think it's a one and done plant. Too fussy for someone who is not a gardener! Are you getting the itch to travel? You've been home for a long time. Although travelling is not only risky but about to become far more expensive. DH wants to go places, I want to stay home LOL


Susie - I'm so sorry to hear you had Covid. I hope you are all recovered now. I had to smile at your 80's comment. By then I was accepting I didn't have the hair (or products) for 80's big hair. Just accepted what I had but my sister's wedding picture was a testament to the styles of the time. LOL it is fun to look back on things. Funny thing is, I don't see that much change although the face is rounder, the arm has more bat wing and the hair is grayer! I wish I had not shied away from pictures - like you said - thinking we were too fat - oh boy if we only knew!! Where are you staying in Las Vegas? I don't think I'd recognize the place any longer. We used to go 2 - 3 times a year in the 90's. It's nice to have something to look forward to.


Laura - how did the plank challenge and the apple fritters work out? I agree with you - fritters now a days have no apple in them. I've been disappointed in all of them I've tried over the last 2 years. Not motivated enough to make them myself and I don't need more than one a month anyway LOL. How is your Mom doing? Good news that BF is taking his meds like he should - so hard dealing with them.


Ceejay - how is the intermittant fasting working for you? I tried that and I think it helps but you have to be a good planner to make it work and I was not as committed as I needed to be. Also just knowing I could not eat after a certain time automatically made me hungry.


I'm sorry to make this so short but I wanted to get something down and I have a class in 45 minutes so I need to prepare. Then we have to go to the shelter and pick up our bingo things in storage. We are doing a 4 session bingo fundraiser in March and April - twice a month starting this week. I don't know if I'm excited about it or not.


Anyway - take care everyone.

Happy
I like the IF. I'm a night time snacker. Sometime u can make a 14 hour fast but only once have I completed a 16 hour fast. If I make the 14 hour fast I'm doing good right now. I like the idea, ut will probably try for my realm of a window of 12's.

Annie
Congratulations on the new grandson.

Susie
hope you are feeling better from the bout with covid.. I didn't realize that vovid would last that long on your system.

Shad
hi : wave:

Not much going on in my neck of the woods.

Man this site is WONKY!!!!

I just typed a bunch into the Quick Reply and the screen suddenly changed and I lost it all. grrrrrr

Ceejay - I did try IF and it really was helpful to break the nighttime snacking habit. But I was unable to manage anything more than a 14 hour fast. It makes it a bit difficult also when there are 2 people in the house and you're doing the cooking. DH would make something himself to eat if I asked but that would only work for a day or two.

I'm glad you are having success with it.

Yes, Donna, I have been having this problem for a while now. The reply/ post screen is smaller than usual, and as you type into it, it just changes to the normal and you lose the lot. Very annoying.
It seems that the screen has difficulty loading and then it just adjusts and gives you the proper screen. It's a pain.

Hello all. Once again a few weeks since posting. This is probably the right interval for me to post since I don’t have all that much going on.

Shad – Six seasons, huh. In my area, the old joke is that we have two seasons – winter and construction (the latter in reference to the never-ending roadwork). When we had our dog, I always said we had mud season – the very wet time at the beginning of spring when the ground was so wet with melted snow and/or rain. ==As for the air fryer…it’s yet to be seen if it yields any healthy foods for us. I’d like to try making fish in it. So far though, it’s been used for chicken wings and tater tots and little else. BF talked about purchasing an air fryer cookbook and I told him there’s a lot of recipes online. I’ve also put three air fryer cookbooks on hold at the library. I have way more cookbooks on my bookshelves than I need/use, even after doing a purge a few years ago. I’d rather just take a photocopy of a page from a library book than invest in a book that’ll mostly gather dust on the shelf. Logistically speaking, the full-size air fryers take up a good bit of counter space. That might be a deal-breaker for you. ==Sorry to hear about all the rain and flooding going on over there at the moment. The weather gets stranger and stranger, and more and more severe. !@#$% climate change. Horrible to hear about all the damage caused by the harsh weather. ==Did you enjoy the Probus Club outing to the Outback Spectacular? If nothing else, it’s a change of pace. ==I had to look up Day of the Triffids, LOL. I might have that species of plant in my backyard, lol. == Yes, I agree with your comment to Susie - sometimes carrying all the stuff during my commute makes me feel like a pack mule! I often visualized my vertebrae compressing with every step I took, especially when the powers that be at work required to take our laptops home every night just in case something happened to cause us to work remotely the next day. Even though it has its own hassles, I’ll be using a wheeled backpack for my commute on a permanent basis.

Annie – Congrats on the birth of the grandbaby! I hope the complications will subside as the baby develops/gains weight. ==Glad to hear that work is great. Ugh, the IRS thing is still not resolved??!! What an ordeal. And always something new depending on what you’ve done to trigger some tax event. The tax code in this country is ridiculous. == I need my full lunch hour these days to get away from the computer screen. Maybe being back in the office and having face to face meetings and other interactions that don’t involve zoom meetings will be a good thing for me. That and getting out of the house, even if it’s for the commute. As the weather gets nicer, I’ll get out for walks and that’ll be good too, but right now I have cabin fever.

Susie – You’re so right – it’s a real hassle hauling all our stuff around to/from work…on a normal day. It becomes a gigantic hassle when the need for an umbrella is added to the mix. In preparation for my return to the office next month I’m trying to see if I can go with a much smaller purse that I can jam into my backpack with all the other stuff…== Planking isn’t going good since I fail to practice them outside of the weekly yogalaties class. I suppose another calendar reminder is in order. Or I can plank on the kitchen floor while I wait for my morning tea to brew, lol. ==I’m glad you’re over the covid. I had no idea you could test positive for 100 days afterwards! == Good for you leaving work on time and not working at night after you get home. I know sometimes it’s called for, but it shouldn’t have to be a regular thing. I think it’s interesting and not a bad thing at all that this pandemic that forced remote work has kind of tipped the scales in favor of more work-life balance for employees. I may whine about the mandatory 3 day in-office policy when I’d have preferred two days, but it’s a BIG improvement over the 5 days in-office that I had pre-pandemic. ==I agree, it’ll be nice to not have to wear masks inside the office unless I choose. I believe masks will still be required on public transit, which is a good thing IMO. ==Oh, how awesome to have a trip to Las Vegas to look forward to!

Happy – Good to be keeping busy. All those classes! Too bad two didn’t really help much. I’m glad you like the exercise class and that you’ve seen improvements. I hope you find a doctor to replace your knee so you don’t have to be limited in your daily activities. ==So is the remodeling project done now? BF has gone completely anti-project these days. After our repiping project didn’t miraculously make our bathroom hot water faucet get to temp more quickly, he decided he wanted a recirculating pump installed. He bought the pump and it’s just been sitting there for months now because he (wisely) decided that the plumbing and electrical aspects were beyond his skill level…but he hasn’t hired anyone to install it! And that’s just one of the many projects. ==Nice you have new furniture coming! We just had our sofa and easy chair steam cleaned last fall, and then this past Sunday I managed to break a spring on my end of the sofa. Aaargh! We turned the sofa over on its back yesterday to see if it’s something we could fix ourselves. Of course we disagree on how to go about it. A bracket that holds one end of the spring in place is on a part of the frame that’s hard to access. I say we could install a new bracket on a more accessible part of the frame just a few inches away and it would be an effective fix. BF disagrees – it’s perfection or nothing with him! And digging up the paperwork on this sofa (which has dual recliners) shows that we bought it in 2006 and that it’s totally out of warranty. We’re waiting for a quote from a furniture repair company now. Even if I’m jonesing for a new LR sofa (I am), I’d like to try and fix this one so we could at least give it away or maybe use it in our basement – it’s in pretty good condition – fabrics, cushions, recliner mechanism, etc.. I don’t want to have someone haul it away to a land fill while it still has some use. Anyway, we’ll see what the quote is. If it’s too high, I’m going to go ahead and order the repair kit online and go forward with a DIY repair. If it’s not satisfactory, then I’ll give up and shop for a new sofa. == Wow, 2 am is a late night! And 5:30 am is an early morning after that! The lack of sleep must catch up with you at some point, doesn’t it? I hope you can change your routine so you get a good night’s sleep or a good long nap during the day! == My apple fritters turned out pretty good. I think the next time I’d deep-fry them longer to get them crispier. When I think about the ones I’ve tried from the bakery, the crust is very dark underneath the glaze. And I watched a you tube video in which the guy making them commented that he really likes them dark. But I doubt I’ll be making them again any time soon. It’s not worth the hassle with the fryer/oil. I had leftover fritters and froze them. I’ve since reheated one in the toaster oven on the convection setting, but it didn’t crisp up. But they’re still very tasty because they have so many more apples in them than the others I’ve tried. The next one I reheat will go in the air fryer to see if I get a better result. ==Back to the bingo huh? I’d be uncomfortable at the prospect of crowds who’ve missed their bingo during the pandemic.

Hi Ceejay!

As for me…not much going on. My employer set our RTO date in mid-April. It’s again that time to develop our departmental and individual goals, bleh. Our department admin – the one who has so many medical issues - has been diagnosed with uterine cancer. My mom’s hanging in. I still haven’t filed my taxes. I still haven’t returned to the gym. We’ve had a few mild days, so I’ve gotten out for some short walks. I have two more yogalaties classes – tonight and next Wednesday. I haven’t registered for any other exercise class yet. This Sunday is when DST begins. Yay!! Maybe I’ll suddenly want to do more in the evenings than just sloth around on the sofa.



Okay, I’ll get this posted. Some of you have issues with the site. Do you try to post from your phone or from the computer? I type my post in a Word doc and then copy & paste it into 3fc. Other than having to remove extra spaces between paragraphs and weird symbols instead of apostrophes, I don’t have many issues with it. Lucky me! Everyone have a good rest of the week. TTFN!

Hello all,

Daylight savings time. Everyone is complaining that we should not change time any longer. I like the longer light in the evenings so I don't mind. It's only a hassle when you are dealing with someone on a different time line and you want to call them. This time change I always feel like I'm behind (because we move the clocks an hour ahead) but I do love the autumn when we push the clocks back and I think it's later than it is and then find I have that extra precious hour. Of course I do not have kids whose rhythms don't change to contend with.

Bingo went well this week. I was not looking forward to it and was quite nervous about being rusty since I hadn't done it in over a year. The person who helps and calls bingo is not very good at it but I have to let him help and I admit I was a bit relieved when he said he could not make it this time around. It was unfortunate to hear he had a medical issue to deal with but I was glad to have the chance to be the bingo caller. Several people stopped and complimented me afterwards about how clear and well paced I was. We made $750 for the night so a good take. The place filled up completely 30 minutes before we started which was a pleasant surprise for the restaurant owner and the staff - they had a good night in sales and tips also. Everyone was in a good mood which was really nice compared to all the fussing and nastiness of the last 2 years. We all went home really tired that night. DH had a good time jabbering with the crowd - he collects money.

I kept telling myself I had plenty of time and now I am down to the wire about clearing things out for the new furniture to arrive. DH cleared away the old sleep number bed upstairs - we are moving the mattresses only upstairs to that frame. Which leaves us the heavy adjustable frames to deal with and sell or dispose of. The adjust the head and feet - I never cared for them - the head part was at an awkward angle and always gave me too much pressure on my back. The only time I ever really made use of it was when I had my knee surgery. The Puffy mattresses we have now are way too high on those bedframes. I can't get into the bed easily so we are using the lower stationery frame upstairs and will get rid of these. I hope we can sell them - it cost us $7,000 for the mattresses and bedframes when we bought them when we moved here. They still work fine, just need two flexible memory foam type twin mattresses to go along with them. DH thinks he will be able to haul them to the garage to store, I think that's going to be hard - they are very heavy and don't come apart and I am of no help at all for something like that. I have not slept in a bed for the last 5 years since knee surgery. It is super uncomfortable for me now and DH realized last year the very same thing. So we bought recliners which we will put into the master bedroom. This way he can watch TV until he goes to sleep and we can accomodate all the cats that like to sleep with us. Yes, we are the goofy old couple now. We will junk the worn out recliners we currently have. Bought a new couch with power recliners on the end pieces. I will offer our current leather couch for free if anyone wants it. It does have puncture marks from the cats but is otherwise still in good shape. If no one wants it for free, then DH will haul it to the dump when he can get the trailer unburied from the snow. I have always wanted to replace the carpet and wood flooring in the house but after our last remodelling project, I don't know how we could get this done without moving out of the house. Having furniture in the house is a hassle. If you could move things to the deck and tarp them that would work but giving the current employee / worker situation and everything taking months, that's just not viable. I also don't know how much more money I want to sock into this house. If we were to remodel the kitchen and do the floors, it would have been more cost effective to just build a new house altogether. Housing up here is crazy. Everyone wants to move back up here again to get away from the city. Rents are ridiculous because of the market and the fact that we have a severe shortage of housing. Apparently many who would have rented their smaller homes have instead decided to go the Air BnB or VBO route with short term rentals. Even if the places stood vacant for a few slow months, the bonanza they'd make during summer and the prime winter months would be lucrative. The bad part is that it affects the worker shortage. People who work the restaurant / hotel / seasonal jobs get stiffed. They work like mad during the busy time, get their hours cut or let go during the slow months and the rentals if they can find one are often out of their reach. People have multimillion dollar homes crowded on the lakes and the workers are practically living in their cars. It's a problem. But as far as building new homes - the contractors are booked out for 3 years at this point. So we'll just have to make do with what we have. Gets tougher when you are older and can't do things for yourself any longer. Even DH has had to admit that.

I laughed about you talking about hauling a pack load to the office. When I was working downtown in Chicago I had my heavy purse, a big bag of my "stuff" - lunch. paperwork, dress shoes, etc and my laptop that I took home every night. And today's laptops are FAR LIGHTER than what I had to lug. The train station was a clear 1 mile from the other side of town where my office was on Michigan Avenue. I bought one of those heavy wire carts with the bungee cords to lug things twice a day on my commute. I had to take my laptop home because I supported the senior executives, managed a help desk and was always on call and had to spend at least 2 hours a night catching up on emails that I didn't have time to because I was in meetings most of the day. I dug that old hand cart out of the back of the closet this week and we used it to cart the 2 big totes of bingo cards and supplies as well as the giant bingo cage we use. It came in handy! I don't miss that commute though. Towards the end of my stint downtown I got lazy and started taking a cab across town more and more.

Laura - the air fryer is a convection oven. And I have to admit although I have a convection oven in my stove, the only time I ever use it is once a year at Thanksgiving when I make my turkey. I just never took the time to learn how to use it. My stove has a small oven on top and the bigger one on bottom and I use the small one all the time. I got my fryer a couple of years ago when they first came out. I guess as you say there are now a lot more online and cook book references on how to use them. DH wanted it and it lays in a box in the basement. I can't think of anything I make where I'd use it. I agree with you on the apple fritters. It's nice that you found a recipe more flavorful than the bakery offerings BUT when it comes to having to use that much oil to deep fry - that's just too much of a hassle for me. DH wanted to make homemade fried chicken once. After it splattered all over the kitchen, wasn't as good as the store bought / restaurant stuff and there was the dilemma of where to store that extra oil I said no way.

I hope you can get your sofa fixed. The mechanism on my current recliner is failing on the foot part. It's a Lazy Boy so we can probably get it fixed but I don't know if I will bother. The fabric is a nubby kind and I didn't realize how badly the cats shredded it (we have 5 scratching posts in the house). I did realize that my new recliner is not the rocking kind so I might either bring down the rocker from upstairs or move the recliner upstairs because I like to read and rock sometimes.

I type right on the computer once I get the site stabilized to a page. It just seems to be a hassle to type it into a Word doc because I go back and forth looking at your posts. I would not even attempt to post on my phone - too hard to read the screen and type. I think having to accomodate websites to use phones and tablets besides computers has complicated the whole mess. Think about developing a screen that is used by a 15 - 17inch screen, an 8 inch tablet OR a 3 - 4 inch smart phone. Kind of tough. And there is IOS technology vs Android for smart phones and tablets, Windows 10 and 11 for computers. I'm glad I'm not in that business any longer! Of course the trend would be to accomodate the most current stuff and leave the old things in the dust.

Thank you for backing me up on that Shad.

Hope you are feeling better Susie

Hope the new grandbaby is getting stronger every day Anne and the IRS gets off your back

Hello Ceejay I see you got some ice and snow also recently.

We are FINALLY getting out of the freezing temperatures next week after long last. Which means the dreaded spring thaw is coming. Our sump pump will start up in the basement and run for weeks on end which always makes me soooo nervous. After the power blipped off during our recent ice storm last week, I told DH I would like to consider a whole house generator. We have 2 sump pumps down there so if one died, the other could probably handle the extra load while DH replaced the pump but if the power cuts out we are in trouble. That room has the furnace, hot water heater, big freezer, extra refrigerator and my pantry with all my extra food and paper goods. Would not take long for the water to seep in and ruin the floor and furniture in the next room too. Anyway it's good to see the spring birds returning.

Hoping for better weather for you Shad and some drying of all that rainfall.

I am finding that the more I sit around the less I want to move so I keep telling myself "a body in motion stays in motion, a body at rest stays at rest". I'm thinking as the weather improves, with it will come more energy, especially if it warms up and you don't have to worry about slipping on ice or freezing outside.

And with that, it's already noon so I'd better get off the computer and get some things done. DH has attended an online photography conference this past weekend. It was far less expensive than flying out and getting a hotel room and it's put on by a group out of Chicago that attracts some of the best photographers world wide. It was like a regular conference with concurrent sessions but on Zoom instead of in person. You could submit some of your photos for critique. He said he really enjoyed it. Now he is all fired up to go out and get pictures. Which brings up a problem in that I am not in the shape to get out on uneven ground and lots of walking with my knee in the condition it is. I do have to find a surgeon who will operate on me. But that's another story for another time.

Hope you are all doing well.

So I had to post this twice. Good thing I copy it before I post. First I got the timed out message where I had to log in again. Then when I tried to post it hung for an inordinate amount of time "establishing secure connection..." And when it returned, it dropped my post so I had to yet again, repaste my post and try again. Third time was the charm apparently.

It does seem to hang for long periods both in posting or even responding to navigation.

Hello Everyone!


It is a beautiful spring day here in Ohio. It motivated me a bit to get the heavier sweaters and long sleeve shirts put away as well as my boots.


I worked from home last week as my Executive was on vacation in Europe. Back to working in office tomorrow. This week I am taking a vacation day on Wednesday. We are going with a friend to The Schuster Center, in Dayton, OH to see Alton Brown. My DH and our friend both love cooking and talking about it and they wanted to go to see Alton in person, so we are going. It will be fun...just to get out and do things is fun!


I was going to work from home a half day and then I changed my mind. I think I will bring in my spring and summer shoes and get them in place. That way I know if I need to toss sandals and such because they are looking worn and know what I need to buy. I also moved my hair appointment to mid-morning since we will not be home in the evening.


Happy: I am glad you posted about the sleep number bed. I have wondered about them and I have heard from others the same thing you wrote. We think next year we will replace our mattress and said we might consider a Sleep number bed...but I think we might pass on it now.


You asked were we are staying in Las Vegas; we will be staying a the Paris Hotel.


We were also talking about our living room furniture and getting new next year as well and we were talking about getting a sofa recliner as well.


Annie: How is the new grand baby doing? Any good news on the taxes?


Ceejay: We have a gal in our TOPS meeting that does the IF and is doing really well with it. She has done it almost for a year.


Shao: What projects are you working on? I always like to read about what you are doing.


Laura: I am so sad to hear about the Admin and her cancer. I hope and pray it is only in her uterus and not spread to anything else and that they can do surgery soon to remove it.


Regarding all the comments about posting and loosing the posts when submitting it. I always type mine in the reply box and before I submit I copy and paste it into word, in case it doesn't post; that way I can copy and paste it back in, usually goes ok then.


I think it might be because it times out when we are typing on the thread.

Hello all.

So DST is here. Appreciating the longer daylight hours in the pm. Haven’t adjusted a couple things on timers yet– lamp, outdoor lighting. And then there’s my old clock/radio that does adjust for DST start/end, BUT it makes the adjustment based on the *old* US DST start/end dates – i.e., pre-2007. So instead of the 2nd Sunday of March, my clock/radio changes on the first Sunday in April. So in a week or so, I’ll have to change my clock again. And same for the fall when DST ends. Kind of a PITA, but I do like this clock/radio, so I can deal with it.

As for the approval in the US Senate to leave DST in place – I’m fine with that. I like having extra daylight at the end of the day, but I know the morning darkness will be a bummer. I know there’s supposedly hard data out there concerning DST-related accident rates, etc., so I’m thinking it’s a good possibility that this proposed change will go through.

And now it’s spring! We’ve had some milder temps here. Rainy yesterday and today – the grass is getting green and my annuals are popping up. We had a fall clean-up, but that was before our big tree out back lost its leaves, so now we need a spring clean-up. I also need to get on the ball with plans for a new tree in the front yard. I’m also thinking of replacing some of the garden bed shrubs in front of our house. I better get going on that before the garden centers get too busy!

I’ve gotten in a couple good walks lately– one on Sunday and another on Monday evening. It was a lovely day on Monday – wish I’d taken the day off! But I didn’t, so I was happy to get a walk in after work.

My Yogalaties class ended last Wednesday. The plank challenge was a struggle, but I hung in there the entire five minutes. My form wasn’t perfect the entire time, but I did it! That definitely made me want to keep working on strengthening my core. I’ve decided to go back to the Monday night Mat Pilates class at the park district because I know and like the instructor. I even planned to go to the class this past Monday, but when I phoned to ask about buying the group fitness class punchcard and if they’d require reserving a spot, I found out the instructor wasn’t going to be there and class was cancelled. So next Monday I’ll try again.

I can’t remember what I last mentioned about the salon I go to. My hairdresser of many years left and I had my last touchup a month ago with a new person…who told me she was leaving effective 4/1 to go to a new startup salon. Aaaargh! She gave a card with her cell phone number to call if I wanted to learn about the new place – it sounds very different – you pay based on a rate for the hairdresser, not a set fee, there’s no assistants (shampoo girl, reception, etc.), natural kinds of products, etc. Since I don’t even know this person well enough to know if I like her and worth following to a new salon (and the new salon will be a bit further away from home), I’m going to pass. I’m going to stick with my current salon. I’m going to stretch out the time between my cuts for the time being since my last cut was a bit shorter than usual. I’ve decided I don’t want to fuss with any transitional options to get me to my natural hair color as they still involve chemicals, so I’m going to try to stop doing anything and just let the color grow out. Not ideal, given I’m returning to the office in a few weeks, but I feel like I’m ready now (whereas I wasn’t early in the pandemic when the timing would have been better – oh well.) I joined a private fb group for people going gray – hope that’ll help me stick to the plan!

Nothing fun planned at the moment. I want to use a couple more of my carryover vacation days. The weather won’t be anything great in the next week or so, but I want a day off, so I think I’ll take Monday off anyways. Hopefully I can schedule a massage for that day.

==

Happy – Glad the bingo went well. People appreciated it after its absence. Maybe it shouldn’t be resumed as a weekly thing, or whatever the pre-covid schedule was. == As for your furniture…did your new stuff get delivered yet? Did you manage to get rid of the adjustable bed frames? So you’re still using your sleep number bed in another room, just without the frames, or did you get rid of it? Our Sleep Number bed is old, purchased before it was even called a Sleep Number bed (can’t remember what the old name was). It’s still fully functional. I’m not sure what would happen to make it need replacement other than a leak in it, or the pump going out. The “sidewalls” of my side of the mattress where I sit to pull things out of the dresser (foot of the bed) and nightstand (side) aren’t rigid anymore, but it doesn’t affect sleeping on it. So it’s still fine. == Your comments about wanting to replace carpet/flooring reminded me of when we moved to our house. We removed the carpet and thought the floors underneath were fine. Then we changed our mind. The original sealer had aged over time and turned an orange-y color that we didn’t like. I can’t remember exactly after 22 years, but I think we had our furniture moved into the garage instead of the house, borrowed an air mattress from a friend and slept in the basement for nearly a week while the floors were sanded, stained and sealed. Oh the fun! == I can certainly understand your thoughts about wanting to limit the amount of further house renovations to invest into your house – I find myself getting to that point too. Like our kitchen…the old cabinets – re-faced by the previous owner – definitely need updating, but now I’m thinking maybe re-facing them would be enough. The boxes are original and are sturdy as ever, so it’s definitely an option. And maybe adding a run of cabinets under our windows to add some counter space, but I’m sure it gets complicated then – the hvac vent, the electrical outlet, moving the dishwasher…but not nearly as expensive as a full demo. And it would help sell the house when the time comes…trying to talk myself into it vs. letting it go. ==It’s truly a dilemma concerning housing for lower paid and seasonal workers. My previous employer had a hotel group and the hotel in the Colorado Copper Mtn/Keystone ski area had to deal with that issue. == Ugh, you had a tougher commute than I do, that hike from the train station to Mich. Ave. with the old heavy laptops! I had that commuting situation with my first job out of college, but no laptop, and I took the bus a lot. Remember Lower Wacker in the old days??? Those funky green lights? LOL.

BF decided not to pay a guy to fix our sofa spring. He came out last week, didn’t have the right size spring, and was going to re-quote and re-schedule. We used the spring size info to order our own replacement spring repair kit off of amazon, and I also bought some new dustcover material from Joann Fabrics, so we’re ready to go with it this week. Wish us luck! I hope you like your new recliner sofa with power recliners! Does it have a phone charger port too?? == As for posting here – I read your posts off the phone, but type my posts in Word and cut/paste to the site on my laptop. == I do agree with you that all the different devices/sizes really make it very difficult for companies to have good sites on all those platforms. Bf wants to do almost everything on his phone and gets really annoyed when sites don’t work as they should.

Susie – We had a couple very nice days over the weekend, but now it’s back to chillier temps. But not winter-like, so yay for that! I hope you enjoyed your day off to see Alton Brown. Yes, just getting out and doing something is fun! == I’ll be interested in what kind of mattress you end up choosing. Even though our Sleep Number was expensive, I feel like we’ve gotten a lot of years out of it. If it needed replacement out of the blue, I’d be satisfied with all the years we got out of it. == The admin is getting her surgery next week Thursday, so I’m glad it’s happening quickly. She’s having to do a lot of pre-surgery clearance appointments and testing (CT, stress test, etc.) and it’s been a hassle for her (scheduling, etc.), but she’s getting through it and I’m hoping there aren’t any last minute issues!! Appreciate your prayers for her!

Hellos to the rest of you!! I hope you’re all having a good week. TTFN!

We had snow on the ground Saturday morning; it made me want to cry! It didn't last long once the sun came fully up but it was and is still very chilly here in the Ohio Valley.


We had a wonderful time at the "Alton Brown" show. I had not really seen his show, my husband is the one who watches but it was very entertaining and just fun to be out and doing something with large crowds.


As we get back to doing "normal" things, I realize how depressing the pandemic has really been. There have been a few good things. We have enjoyed getting to know our neighbors and creating connections there. I loved working at home and really think my best work life balance would be to work from home on Monday and Thursday every week.


Monday's because being a global company when we come in on Monday morning, there is so much to catch up and I like doing that from home, where I can think and not be interrupted by what everyone needs. While they still have their requests it is much better in a email, rather than them coming to my desk, downloading a ton of information to me and then walking away. I like Thursday's at home because it gives me a break from the commute and I have my TOPS meeting on Thursday and I don't feel like I have to "rush" to make it there on time. Friday's a lot of people work from home (pre-pandemic) and usually just the morning and then were off the rest of the day. It gives me another day to work without interruptions.


Speaking of TOPS, I am really struggling with my eating and exercise. I do ok for a few days and then fall of the wagon....then it takes a few days to get the mojo flowing again....and it's becoming a circle. I'm not sure what is wrong with me, but I need and want to figure it out and get back on track.


Laura: I too love that it doesn't get dark so early in the evening but I really don't like driving to work in the dark in the morning and right now when I am driving for my 50 min commute it is pitch black...I'm thinking that during the winter months, that is going to awful.


I leave at 6:45 a.m. so I can get be in the parking lot around 7:30 a.m. (so I don't have to park so far away) and to my desk by 7:40 a.m. that way I can start at 7:45 a.m. That helps me to be able to start shutting down and packing up to go home around 4:15 a.m. and be in the car at 4:30 p.m. and home around 5:20 p.m.


I am really proud of you for doing the plank challenge and seeing it through! And you are inspiring me to get going and back to walking.


Was it this past week that the Admin had her surgery or is it this week? I have been praying for her.


Hello to the rest of the group!

Morning all,
Thought I had better drop in here while I am waiting for a couple of things to happen - the paint on the front door to dry and the lemon ginger curd I have made while waiting for the paint to dry, to cool off enough to bottle it. Got given a batch of lemons and thought I needed to do something with them, so we have a lemon meringue pie and the curd and I still have a couple left. My little lemon tree is also growing quite a few lemons as well. Have to find something to do with them when they ripen completely.
I've been busy with gardening and painting while the sun is out. We had another bout of a rain storm and it flooded everything that got flooded a couple of weeks back and a few more places as well. Now it's in Sydney wreaking havoc down there. Hopefully we will be free of rain for a while now. The grass is growing fast but the lawn mower will sink in the dirt if I take it out there today. Maybe tomorrow.
I planted lettuce, carrots and beans just before the rains came again. The lettuces are doing fine, and I see the beans are starting to sprout but no sign yet of the carrots. Still got a heap of seeds to plant out but it can wait until tomorrow now. Too warm out there just now.
Susie - hope the snow goes away soon. You must all be tired of winter now. I am hanging out for winter here, it's been a long, hot, wet, humid summer and according to the scientists is only going to get worse.
Yes this pandemic has done a number on a lot of people. I've always been a bit of a hermit so being at home and being alone hasn't hit too hard, although I am just realising how few of my friends I have seen over the last couple of years and with the dog and the son moving north, I do miss the company. Just goes to prove that the old saying 'no man is an island to himself' has to be true.
I understand the struggle you are having with weight loss and motivation for exercise. I set myself a goal to lose a kilo a month but darn it, it is not happening. Despite the reduced food diet and the 30 mins of exercise per day I am up and down like a yo-yo. Always between 1 and 1.5K. I know a great deal of it is fluid, but I do take fluid tablets and I keep going and going but nothing seems to work forever. I'm not giving up, but I'm not going on a hunger strike either.

Laura - Hope you have the garden sorted out now. Did you get a tree for the front yard?
Well done on the plank challenge. You done good girl. I didn't get a choice about going grey, the hair fell out and grew back natural so I didn't bother to spend the cash on getting it sorted again, just get it cut and leave it at that. My hairdresser tells me that it is still dark at the back. So be it. It's grey on top and a white streak in the front. Just call me Morticia.

Happy - I see you and DH are talking to each other via Facebook these days. I go in there rarely now. Probably just check a few posts overnight and then forget it. A fair amount of stupid on there and so I figure I might keep what little brain I have left and leave it off. I always check for the chickies posts and a few close friends and check up on what the kids are doing just so I can razzle them from a distance.

And that's about it. The paint is dry and the curd is cooling so I better get ready to bottle that and decide whether or not to put another coat of paint on the doors - probably not, but maybe. I kind of run out of puff by around 1.30 in the afternoon.

See you later.

Good morning ladies,

Darn it, I'm going to sit here until I finish a proper post. I have to honestly say since the beginning of the year the time has really ramped up. I can't believe it's already April. We are still dealing with winter - seems to be too many ice storms this year but there small signs that spring is on it's way.

Shad, do you plant your carrots in a different soil mix than the other items? I tried to grow carrots once - made a bucket of sandy soil that was loose so I didn't get knobby carrots. I thought they were just ok, not much better than the carrots with tops I can get from the store but DH said they were yummy and ate them all. He is having cabin fever something terrible - ordered a huge lot of bulbs because he wants to photograph flowers. I'm not sure how well that will work since we have a wildlife preserve with tons of squirrels at the ready to dig up the bulbs and their friend the deer who are already nibbling by the house on the landscaping that dares to send some early shoots up. I am not interested in gardening - we have a lovely farmers market during the summer and such a short growing season here, it's not worth the effort to me. Also with my knees, I cannot get down to the raised beds easily. Have been asking DH for years to buy / build me waist high raised boxes but while helpful at times, DH is very distracted by many other projects. I asked him last November to print and frame me 4 of his bird pictures for my bathroom wall. Still waiting... I waited 6 months for him to get and install new windshield wipers for my car. I had to threaten to ask my friend's husband for help. And even after he finally got them he put his on his car immediately and it was another 2 weeks of nagging before he did mine. It had gotten so bad that I could not see well when I had to use them so I begged him on the grounds that it was a hazard. How did your lemon curd / pie come out? DH was moaning he wanted to make fresh lemonade. I told him it would be pricey but ordered him a box of lemons from the produce company. He made one pitcher of the most sour lemonade on earth - I smelled it and it gave me acid reflux The other half of the lemons are sitting in a bin on the counter wilting in the dry air. I suppose I shall have to make another pitcher so they don't go bad. Like you, not sure what else to do with them other than a nice lemon blueberry cake. How nice that you have a lemon tree in your yard. I always thought it would be wonderful to have fresh avocados, oranges and lemons - I just don't want to live in the places that will allow you to grow those things. I'm glad to hear the rains are subsiding. That had to be terrible and worrisome for you. Yes, sometimes DH and I have conversations on FB - sometimes when we are sitting just around the wall from one another. I know what you mean about it, I would like to be done with it but I do depend on many of the local vendors' updates. Many use FB instead of a website.

Susie - I was fortunate enough once to have a job that allowed me to work from home. I loved it for all the reasons you stated. I got so much more done without the interruptions and generally put in far more time then I would had I been commuting. The only thing I missed was that I used to be an avid reader and once I stopped taking the train, I never seemed to have the time or inclination to read that much ever again. I'm glad you enjoyed the Alton Brown show. He is full of trivia and fun facts - likes to mix science with cooking! I love to watch him when he guest judges on Chopped. He can be pretty diabolical!

I don't know about the Daylight Savings Time sticking. They tried it once a few years ago and then repealed it when parents protested it was too difficult getting their kids up when it was dark and didn't want them standing out waiting for the bus before it was light out. With poor night vision, I actually liked when we changed our time, I especially enjoyed that extra hour in the fall - it was like the day was 25 hours long as I never had enough time for things.

Laura - congratulations on sticking it out on the 5 minute plank! That's quite an accomplishment. Good luck with letting your hair grow naturally. I decided I don't like the total effect of white on my head - my hair has gotten thinner and I have a white streak also which combined with the thinning hair makes it look like I have a bald spot if I part my hair in the middle - there's hair there - it's just super fine and white and my scalp shows through so I part my hair on the side and have them paint in a bit of blond to soften the color. When I get my hair done, she puts a toner on it. She had been making it gray which I hated and last time she did a color that was like a rose gold except it was like rose taupe and I absolutely loved it. I don't know if I can get this refreshed between touch ups but for once I was really pleased with the color. I go to an Aveda salon so while it's still chemicals, it's not as harsh as some of the stuff in the other salons around here. Good luck with what you choose though.

Finally got a text this morning that our furniture is scheduled for delivery this week. I am going to put it off for 2 more weeks, I have not been able to get the things done I want to before it arrives. And we have a road ban in place right now. It's a seasonal thing barring trucks of a certain weight on the roads in the spring thaws - meant to keep people from tearing up the roads while they are soft and mushy. So depending on the size of the truck, they might not be able to deliver it anyway.

You ladies talk about struggling with your weight. I have been having the same issues. I decided around Christmas that I was tired of all this extra weight and was going to make a serious committment to change. I am in a program with a nutritionist which goes for a year - I am already bored with it. When you have dieted most of your life, you pretty much know the basics of nutrition and what to eat and what not to eat so I am having to spend 2 hours each week not learning anything of value. I have engaged more in exercise. I am noticing how weak my arms are as well as my legs. We do simple exercises and I bought 2 balls to compliment the hand weights and resistance band so I can do them at home to supplement. I told DH to GENTLY remind me to go down to the basement to exercise on the bike and NuStep - no nagging. I have cut my portions of food - some days I actually don't eat enough and I go to bed hungry. And since the beginning of the year I just keep bouncing with the same 3 pounds over and over. Takes me forever to lose any weight and then one salty meal and it's 2 pounds up overnight and the struggle resumes. I am getting very bummed over it. I NEED to see results in order to stay motivated. And I hate micromanaging every morsel that goes into my mouth. The only thing left is eating only boiled chicken or fish and steamed vegetables. And who wants to live like that?

My knee is also killing me. I really need a knee replacement. Badly. I have bone on bone and bone spurs are building. Walking is very painful and standing 2 hours calling bingo is killing me - thank goodness it's only 4 sessions. I have talked to 2 surgeons, neither will operate on me at this weight. They go by BMI only and mumble about slow healing and infection risk and yadda yadda. I know it's because they belong to a consortium of hospital groups that want their success numbers up high so they flat out refuse to take on patients who need help - not just for knee surgery but for other things also. I would have to lose 70 pounds to get to a normal BMI and believe me, if I could do that, I most certainly would. But I cannot exercise or walk strenuously. I can't even put all my weight on one leg so many of the stepping exercises or standing and balance exercises I simply can't do. I am however doing what I can to tweek my diet and increase the water, sleep and exercise hoping to at least live in a tolerable pain and try and move the scale that only mocks me.

Other than that nothing of real interest going on in my life. Sometimes I feel like I just pass the days and have a small nag in the back of my mind that I am wasting my life on nothingness instead of focused goals.

I need to get ready for my nutrition class - which means comb my hair and look presentable on zoom

Hope you are all doing well.