Hey, all!

SunnyD, that's great that you were able to go out and eat with no problems. Were you a little nervous about it, and kind of waiting to see if you later had any symptoms? Is bread bad for you, by the way? Are fats a big problem, too, or is that a weight control issue? I felt bad for Joe with all that snow shoveling. You guys should definitely be thinking of a warmer climate after he retires, or maybe a move to someplace where he won't have so much shoveling? I'd vote for the warmer climate! I laughed so hard about your big boy trying to fit his rear into the small drawer. Cats are so darn funny! My bad boy, Arrow, really made the fur fly at our house yesterday. Literally! I had to go around and pick up big hunks. He loves to annoy the girls and then the fights begin. My DH stopped working, picked Arrow up, and brought him into the office for a "time out." Toilet's fixed by the way so when are you coming over? Good for you for getting all that exercise in, but don't overdo it. I remember that it wasn't too long ago that your doc said to cut down a bit, am I right?

Speaking of exercise, I went to water aerobics today, then thought I'd walk down to the strip mall to get some coffee. It's about a 2.5 mile round trip. Remind me not to take that on so soon after I get home from aerobics--I was exhausted!

Went to the local thrift store to buy some jeans. It's pretty exciting to be able to shop at thrift stores. I also got a couple of vases because I bought some flowers to put on the graves of my friend's children. She had five kids, two of whom died in their 30s. Their grave markers have their photos on them under plexiglass, and handprints of their siblings, parents and grandparents. Pretty unique.

Tomorrow we're going to get our taxes done. I kept forgetting about making an appointment, but the deadline is only a month away. I used to do them myself, but had some weird thing last year so used a service, and have the same weird thing this year. Also going to attend another volunteer session at the humane society. This one is on how to take care of shelter cats. Someday I should be through with the series and actually able to volunteer.

We're giving notice at the apartment today. We should be able to close on our house next Friday, and then we'll have three weeks to get the wallpaper down, and paint. I have a friend who said she'll help, and my stepdaughter said she would, too. If they think I'm not going to ask them to help, they're sadly mistaken because I need all the help I can get!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Good Morning,

I am going to have to stop getting my car washed...Drove through the $4.00 car wash yesterday, and it is snowing hugely outside again. I needed to get it washed so badly, went to Green Bay Saturday morning to pick up grandkids and the freeway was so sloppy from snow and salt that my black car looked grey when I got back home. By Tuesday, I couldn't stand to look at my car anymore, so I got is washed. Wednesday morning, yep snowing again. I like to tell myself that by the middle of March, we have better weather than this, but it is most likely wishful thinking.

Idol.....hmmmm...Mikahala Gordon, I didn't understand a word she was singing. What song was that? What's up with her outfit, jeese, if I wanted to see a fat stomach, I would look at my own. I was disappointed with Anwar's performance, hope he steps it up next week. Simon Cowell was way too hard on everyone and Randy Jackson was very hard on some of the contestants which was a real surprise. Please stop picking on Nikko Smith and Carrie Underwood. I love the Everley Brothers and considered then a little bit of country. Constantine was excellent. I know Sunny will be the only one who can decipher this, but thanks for letting me get it off my chest.
Now we will just have to see what torture Jeff puts the Survivors through tonight. It will be a busy night, have to watch Idol finals for this week and Survivor tonight. What the heck are we going to do Thursday night? Perhaps if I do something productive, instead of spacing out in front of TV that would be a "Good Thing" Oh yeah, forgot...CSI

Sheila, you are leading a very proactive life. I am jealous, of course I have lived in the same community for almost 63 years and in the same house for 45 of those years, one would become boring after that many years in one place don't you think. Arrow, pretty neat name, what are the other two named? I always meant to ask you what you dog's name is too, you always refer to him as your "little dog". It is intersting the terminology we use without even thinking. "Making wood" i.e. felling a tree, sawing it into manageable lengths, and splitting it with a log splitter into sizes that fit through the door of our wood burners. I really look forward to being able to walk outside again in comfortable weather, perhaps the middle of April the weather will be more conducive to walking outside around here.

Sunny, sounds like you are feeling so much better, good job on the excercise. I know how Joe feels, You either end up with cabin fever or stress from dealing with going out in winter like conditions everyday. Having Easter so early this year, tricks your mind into thinking that nicer weather should be here already. The grandkids had a good time, and of course want to come back again this weekend.

Charlotte, thinking about you, and your health. Take care, love you bunches.

Diane, notice your area was getting some colder temps and snow? Is that possible? Hope you are still feeling better.

love......Bonnie

Oh, forgot to tell you the really good news, OB has been gone on a road trip since Monday due back tomorrow...aw shucks.

Aha! So you're the one causing all the weather problems in the Midwest, Bluet! Hey, why do something productive at night? You do productive stuff all day plus deal with OB. Glad he was gone for most of this week, by the way. I bet you felt a lot less stressed for those few days.

"Little dog" is actually named Mitch. He spent six years as Butch, but I hated that name so when he became mine, I changed it to Mitch. Close enough to Butch, I guess. Plus now when we're mad at him, we can say "MITCHELL!" Actually, we say other things when we're mad at him, but I can't write them here. Besides Arrow, we have CeCe, which stands for Colorful Cat because she's a beautiful vivid calico. Then there's Tess, who is Tess just because I liked the name. Then my son married a woman whose mother was named Tess. Oh, well.

Diane, I heard on the news last night that Amarillo went from 83 degrees to 8 inches of snow. Oh, my! Did you get in on any of that? If so, bet the boys loved it.

Charlotte, are you lurking? If so, hi, and hope you post when you feel up to it.

SunnyD, what's up with you?

We had our taxes done today. In December, I got worried and sent in an estimated tax payment of $1,000. Glad I did because we owe $123 and if I hadn't sent the payment in, we would have owed $1,123 plus penalties. Next year should be better taxwise because of the house purchase.

It rained today, just lightly, but rain nevertheless. Since Oregon was starting to see dust storms in places that we don't normally get dust storms, rain is certainly a good thing. The people with allergies are much happier.

Hope everyone has a great Thursday! Looking forward to seeing what kind of gore they come up with on CSI.

Uh-oh, I forgot to wear the green today!

Congratulations on your walking this week, SunnyD. Are you going to take a photo of your Easter decorations and share it with us? Hope so. The winter place sound like a good idea, especially if you have family and friend in the area that you'd miss if you moved. Where would the winter place be? Florida is probably the destination for most retirees from the midwest on, isn't it? In the west, it's Arizona. My MIL had a condo in Florida, and a house in Massachusetts. There used to be some kind of train that would take her car down there once she got so she didn't feel comfortable driving that distance. How cool about the deer! I love seeing them around here. We had a big discussion about what plants deer like and what they don't. Guess they love roses and tulips, but not daffodils and dahlias. Maybe they just don't like plants that begin with the letter D.

Kind of a frustrating day for me. We hadn't received a utility bill for Seattle so I called. We have overdue bills because it was sent to my old address (even though I'd given them my new address), and I haven't gotten any mail forwarded in the month I've been here. I've called the P.O. so many times it's not funny. Then I called the Social Security Administration because I got worried that they hadn't put the address change in their computer. I was right to worry because they sent me something on February 25 that I haven't received. I'd called them to tell them my new address, too. I've put in two change-of-address forms, called a bunch of times, told people my new address, and still am having trouble. I feel so helpless. Oh, about the disability, it appears that they've made a decision, which they won't tell me, and now the file is at "quality review" for up to 60 days before they tell me what they decided. Huh? The letter they sent that I haven't received hopefully explains more--if I ever receive it.

Then we're set to close on the house next week, a week early, and it appears the roof guy didn't get the roof treated before it rained so he has to wait at least two weeks, more if it rains and it's supposed to pour this weekend. The realtor was trying to reach the mortgage broker, but he's gone until Wednesday. We can still sign, however, and then when the guy comes back, he can fix the deal. Since it involves the sellers rather than us, it hopefully won't be a problem. I really want to close get into the house by next weekend so I can start stripping wallpaper.

How was your day at work, Bluet? Hopefully the OB didn't make your life too miserable. Not much on TV to look forward to either unless you like basketball. I think basketball has become too much like football. They never call traveling or double dribbling anymore so players just seem to charge down the court with the ball in their hands. Too much like football, I say!

Have a good Friday, everyone! My friend's 70th birthday is Saturday, and I'm going to help at her party. Should be fun. Another day of free food!

Editing to say that I spoke with my Dad today. He had cataract surgery yesterday. It was kind of funny because I called the facility, and he was sitting in the lobby. They put him on the phone, and he's going, "hello, hello!" I'm talking to him, and he's still saying "hello." The receptionist comes back on, and she can hear me just fine, but she says to speak up when I talk to him. He's never had a hearing problem before so I'm not sure what's going on. He gets back on the phone and I'm trying to talk to him, raising my voice, and eventually pretty much shouting into the receiver. I was so loud, my DH put his fingers in his ears. Never did get much talking time with Dad so I wrote him a letter instead.

Good Morning,

Guess what, I did not get my car washed and we are predicted to get 6 to 10 inches of snow this afternoon and into the weekend. Bummer, big time! Well at 3:00 p.m. I will just have an hour and a half until it is time for me to go home from work. Perhaps, I won't have to go out until Sunday for church this weekend. One never knows though, pending the pm I sent to you this morning.

So Sheila, neat names for your menagarie. When you become an authorized volunteer for the shelter, are you going to be able to resist those cute kittens and toy dogs, or will you be adding new members to your household? Good for you that you will have some volunteers to help you with the paint, wall paper, etc. We had a wallpaper discussion once before on this forum. There's no way, that I am putting up any of that stuff ever again. Plenty of white paint works well for me. I know there are so many neat colors being used lately, but I have also been that route, and when you have to change the dark wall color, it takes lots of coats to cover up that dark paint. I don't mind painting, but after two coats, I get pretty frustrated. So you guessed it, all the walls in my house are white, except for one bathroom, which I had painted a lite blue, hated it and sponge painted white over it and now love it. Work was pretty boring yesterday, and I think OB had jet lag, so he was pretty quite. I am sorry your Dad is having to deal with surgery without you there. Sounds like a road trip is in your future soon. You will stew for a little while and then you will have to go check it out for yourself. Bummer about the mail. Quality in service everywhere, seems to be lacking these days.

Sunny, You are so funny, and awfully cute. I laughed so hard when you asked what OB stands for. All this time, you have been playing along with us and being sympathetic, and I thank you so much for that support. But, you didn't really know what OB stood for. You are a champion among friends my dear .......So are your ready? OB means OFFICE BULLY I am afraid this pending snow storm is tracking south, and it is a huge front, so I expect you might see some snow too. Minneapolis/St. Paul area got socked in late yesterday. That's where Willow lives. But, Willow loves snow and winter. She is a brave soul. Looking forward to your Easter pics. Need to see some Spring in my life. I love pictures of brown bunnies among daffodils. What are your plans for Easter? Three of the kids and their families are coming home for Easter, we usually go out for brunch that day. I haven't made a reservation yet. I am such a procastinator!!! I hate that about myself. Of course, now we will have to see how dh feels.

Hey Charlotte, starting to worry about you. Was your news not so good and your down? Sure hope not. Miss your posts.

Hi Diane, hope you are doing well.

Hey, Willow it is just starting to snow here and it wasn't suppose to start untill three is this afternoon.

Have a good day guys.

Bluet

No pinching for you, SunnyD! My DH was reading over my shoulder just a bit because he saw your bunny graphic and my name. He said he read a "couple pics" as "chocolate pics," and thought that sounded good. I think the combination of brown lettering and the Easter bunny graphic gave my chocoholic husband a bad case of wishful thinking! He hasn't been eating as much chocolate since we moved. Maybe I'll buy him a chocolate egg or bunny.

You're sure right about Florida, at least in my opinion. It seemed awfully crowded and, well, just full of old people! I was too hot when I was there in March (of 1986), although my heat tolerance has gone up the older I've gotten. Wonder if Arizona is just the same as Florida as far as number of people, etc. That's interesting about your SIL's mother and the cataract surgery. Maybe elderly people react more strongly to anesthesia? I talked to Dad today, and he was able to hear me a bit better. The nurse at the facility said he refused food yesterday, and only ate a few bites of toast and drank some juice this morning. She's wondering if his stomach is upset from the anesthesia. Since he's diabetic, it's not good for him to go without food. Oh, just as I told her when she suggested calling a cab to get him to his follow-up appointment yesterday, he said no, it's too expensive and he wouldn't do it. I just dumped a ton of money into his account the other day from the sale of the house, but, no, he can't pay for a cab to go less than 20 blocks. Oh, please! I just laughed when she told me that because I can sure predict my Dad, can't I?

Are you selling the CDs at church or other venues? You'll have to take a photo of your poster by the CDs, too. Hope they bring in a lot of money for the piano. You should think big, though--how about a pipe organ?!?!?

Okay, Bluet, so now we know you're not the cause of all that snow in the midwest. Is it ever going to quit snowing?? I have no idea how I would deal with all that snow all the time. Eventually run outside naked and screaming?? I'm with you on the white paint, although I think I'm going for a bit off white. Did I ever mention that I saw a bedroom on HGTV whose color scheme I really liked? The room belonged to a soap opera star on Days of Our Lives. I actually e-mailed her to see if I could get the name of that particular color, but got a canned response in reply. I'm betting, however, that the color you see on the TV screen is probably different than the actual color on the wall. I also saw another color scheme on some show that I'm going to do in the guest bedroom. Other than that, everything will be off-white.

Glad you had a bit of respite from the OB, even after he came back. Hopefully, you can have a restful weekend, despite everything. Easter brunch sounds wonderful--makes me think about making reservations, although with the job situation, I'm trying to save every penny.

So I called the mail guy back today, the guy who said he'd call me today, and discovered he had the day off. Hhmm. Talked to another guy who finally said that they don't know where the mail is, and there's nothing they can do about it. Uh-huh--thanks! Our P.O. at work. After a couple of false starts, I finally reached someone in consumer affairs who looked things up, and discovered that although my change-of-address was effective February 19, it wasn't actually put in the computer until March 15 so the mail would have been returned to the sender. He apologized and said obviously the "more efficient" system that the P.O. started using failed me. Yeah, big time! I'm kind of worried about our next move on April 15. Oh, well, there's nothing that I can do about it.

We did a walk-through of the new house. The owners had left a bunch of stuff in it, so we told our real estate agent we wanted all that stuff removed. Plus they hadn't vacuumed or anything after their estate sale. We are closing a week early, though, so they probably thought they'd have time. I noticed today that they have an iris bed on the west side of the house. I absolutely love iris so that will be exciting to see them come up. They're in a place that you can't see from the house at all, though, unless you go out the garage. Kind of weird, but then the whole landscaping is kind of strange. But that's okay--more fun for me.

DH is applying for jobs like crazy, and hoping if he has to go that he will be allowed to continue telecommuting for whatever company that hires him. I hope so because I'm not leaving my house! Maybe being proactive about searching for jobs will mean that the company will want to keep him.

Charlotte, I hope everything is okay with you. Let us know how you are! And hello to Diane--hope you're doing well.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

I finally made it back.........been tied up with different things the last few days. I haven't even had a chance to "lurk". I finally checked my email before going to the station Friday morning. I had so much email, I still haven't read it all! Just different things going on. I think that's the longest I've been away from my computer since I got it! Talk about withdrawal symptoms!

Well.......I got a GREAT surprise!! Thank you so much Bluet, for your phone call!! I sure didn't mean to concern you or anyone, but, did enjoy talking with you! I love that northern accent. I know I sound more than southern. I've heard myself on our answering machine...like I came from the hillbilly woods, somewhere!! When I watch a tape from the TV Station, I don't sound quite so bad, hopefully not like the answer machine!
I suppose I WOULD get tired of the snow after this amount of time, but at least one good snowfall would be nice. It was snowing lightly & melting before it hit the ground Thursday....everyone was calling each other to inform them it was snowing!! Now...that's desperate for snow! Hope everything is going well with your family. Got grands this weekend? My two granddaughters are with their mother, now, or a week. It's too noisy when they're here, & too quiet when they're gone. If our son ever moves out (hopefully), it'll be lonely for us, for awhile.

SunnyD....good that you're feeling better. I too, are waiting for those pics of your Easter decorations. The schools around here had to celebrate this past week, because next week they are out for AEA. I had a granddaughter to go to the prom last night. She'll be in the 11 grade this next year. The same thing happened with her & her 2 sisters, as last year. She & middle sister got cheerleader, but the youngest didn't make it!! It is very sad to see them all so upset. The 3 are very close in a age & do everything together. The youngest is just as good at cheering as her sisters, so don't know what is going on. My daughter was fit to be tied yesterday....no telling what they caught at the school!!
You mentioned the deer...DH & I were going down the road the other night & had a HERD of deer to cross the highway in front of us! They were beautiful. We have to be very careful around here, not to hit any. There are a lot of curves, & that's where they like to stand, seems like. DH has a rough time with his garden each year...they eat it up!

Sheila...hope you get started on your house soon. I know what you mean about the wallpaper. When we first bought this house, we had to strip wallpaper, newspaper, etc., off the walls! An older lady had lived here & had strange ideas. We only had 1 month to get it liveable....sure wasn't easy. We were silly enough to put up wallpaper! This time.....all paint! My twin daughters are very good at painting, etc., so they're going to do that for me. They know how to do that sponging, & different things with paint. I'm just going to turn that part over to them.
Hope your dad is doing well from his surgery. I had cateract surgery when I was 46. They were caused from the trauma of the car accident. I had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia when they did the first eye! I was throwing up violently! Also, upset stomach. I couldn't stop! It was suppose to be day surgery, but they almost kept me in the hospital. It was a long ride home....DH kept having to stop the car. My eye looked like I had been beaten up! I was black & blue for several days. The other eye went a lot better, when the Dr finally decided what anesthesia to use.

Hello Diane & Willow!

Well....I don't know any more about my tests. The Dr's office usually calls me the next day to give my lab results, but, after a week, I still didn't hear anything. So, Thursday, I called them. A nurse got on the phone & said that my "regular" blood work was in the same range as usual "for me". I told her that the Dr had done special blood work to check for Lupus, Fibromyalgia, etc., & she said the Dr hadn't signed off on it, yet. She didn't have anything to tell me. Sounded strange to me.
I go for a treatment Monday. Maybe Dr there can tell me something. He's the one with my MRI's, also. I wonder if he's even looked at them! I took the stupid cervical collar off. I figured it must not be too important, or they would be letting me know something. My ears & throat are a little better.

Gonna go for now, I think I made up for some lost time. Hope you all have a great weekend!