Pot Bellied Stove / Water Cooler
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Hi all, We had a really nice day yesterday. First we had lunch at Karl Strauss with our friends Jackie and Ken. They are a very busy couple so we grab any opportunity to spend time with them. The company was fabulous - the food just OK. I wouldn't rush back there. Dan ordered a club which was not a club by any stretch of the imagination. He was pretty disappointed. After lunch we did all of our grocery shopping for the week because we are expecting another big rain storm today and didn't want to be out and about. Plus we want to watch some football today. I am going to splurge and make us some nachos today.
I am also going to make a nice pot of chicken soup which will be perfect for this wet and chilly weather. They are now saying that 98% of CA is out of the drought at least for now.
Sheryl, bluegrass music is such happy music, isn't it? I think it is a good thing that they postponed the wood stove installation again. As you said, you want to make sure the job is done right the first time with no extenuating circumstances getting in the way. Plus you don't need the added stress of worrying about whether they are going to finish on time for you to make it to an appointment. It is good that you are getting more tests from various types of Doctors. That swallow test sounded very extensive. It is really wonderful and amazing that you have a group of doctors that actually communicate and discuss your issues and treatment to come up with the best care and treatment plan for you. That is practically unheard of these days! You'll have to let us know what is decided on how to handle the situation with your left larynx. Good to know that John was able to deal with using the phone when it came down to it. Hopefully that would be the case again in the future if needed. We loved windows XP! I think many people would have kept it for perpetuity if Microsoft would have allowed it. I believe we are still using windows 7. We like it well enough and will not change until forced to do so again. Congrats on losing 5 lbs! I am very proud of you!!
Marcie, I haven't been to Claim Jumper in a long time but like it when we go with friends. Interesting that you decided to dye your hair. I will probably continue to have mine dyed until I retire, then I'll see if I still want to deal with it or go "natural". How did things go with your dad tweaking your computer? So sorry to hear about your co-worker and your cousin. It is always tough when someone fairly young dies. Hope your commute improves soon but I think it will probably be pretty crazy this Monday with the rain continuing at least until Tuesday. At least that is the forecast in our part of CA. We have several Rubio's in our area. They are very average and pricey. I only go there if the person I'm with insists. Hang in there with the new towels. My last set of towels (purchased several years ago now) took several washings before they stopped shedding but they did eventually.
Debora, do you still have icy conditions in your area? Sounds like things went pretty well with the kids. You are so good with them! I am like you - when I find a pair of shoes (or clothing for that matter) that I really like, I have learned to buy a couple pairs because you will not find the same ones again. Especially if the price is right. How was it applying for Social Security? Did you feel like you had reached a milestone?
Well, I'm off to start on my soup and pot of greens for the week. Stay warm and cozy today!0 -
Cisco and Dad being lay-abouts on a rainy Sunday afternoon...while I'm slaving away in the kitchen! Typical guys.
Cisco's head is on his blankie that I just washed. It won't take long before it smells like him again!
We had a bit of a break in the rain yesterday, so I ran errands. I went to the As Seen On TV Store at one of the malls to see if he had this under eye dark circle concealer that I had bought somewhere else a while back, but he said he doesnt stock anything that has an experation date, including make up. Boy, that mall was dead. It used to be if you went to that mall on a Saturday, the place was packed. People are just ordering online these days. The owner of that storevtold me it's hit him hard and he doesnt know how much longer he'll be able to stay open.
I also popped in at the Sleep Train store. Just curious about the beds available these days. Mine is over a decade old now and definitely needs to be replaced. Maybe sometime next summer. I kept telling the salesman there that I was not buying anything today, but he still gave me the full-court press. Nice guy though. We even chit chatted about politics for a little while.
Last night Dad and I went to Seasons 52 for dinner (to use up that $25 gift card they gave me, which expires in 2 weeks), but when we got there they said there was a 60-90 minute wait. So we walked around that shopping center looking for another place to go (huge outdoor center, very cold and extremely windy!). We popped in to the Cheese Cake Factory and they had an hour wait, then we tried California Pizza Kitchen, and they had a 45 minute wait. What we learned is that shopping center must be avoided at all costs on Saturday nights. We also failed to take note of the isle number where we parked the car in that massive parking lot, so we just walked each isle pushing the remote control unlock button until we saw the car flashing it's light at us. Sheesh! We wound up leaving that center and just going to Romas Italian that was close to home. We got home around 8 pm. Got lots of walking in though, so that was good.
The sun actually popped out today for about an hour and the winds died down a bit. That's all gone now though. Once again it's cloudy, rainy and windy. I'm looking forward to some sunny days now, but this storm is supposed to keep going for the next couple days, at least.
My pot-of-something today is black eyed peas. They turned out really good. Also hardboiled my weekly eggs and made an egg salad with some extra eggs. I thin I'll have an egg salad sandwich, celery sticks, and some black eyes for dinner tonight.
Sheryl, I hate those nerve-rattling nightmares! The worst ones for me are the paralysis dreams. I tend to get those a couple times a year. I think I'm awake, but I'm not, and I can't move. On traffic, I wonder how I do it every day too. Ha!
Isabella, sounds like a nice night out, even if the food was just okay.
Debora, awe, poor little Deacon and Ava. I hope they are both doing better, and the cast helps Ava0 -
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Good Morning, love how Cisco 'laze' around. You gotta let him, how could you roust him out of bed?
Another nice day, we're forecast to be dry all week. We've loaned our rain to California. Norma said that they were having a huge storm in San Bernardino yesterday. She was invited to a friend's house for dinner, and was hoping to get from the car to the door without being totally drenched.
John and I took the sledge hammer out to the pool yesterday afternoon and busted up the ice. It was still about 4 inches thick, but thawing enough around the edges that John was so afraid the ducks and geese would get caught in it, fall in at the edge and be stuck under the ice in the middle. It's all just water now and the geese jumped right in. They haven't had a good swim in a couple weeks.
I'm back, John got up and I thought he was going to go back to bed, but he's staying up, so I'll close for now.
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Good morning. Weekend sped by. Saturday I baked three packages of bacon, made a cake, straightened the house, got gifts ready for Sunday and the bridal shower and some other stuff. Mid-afternoon, I went to the bridal shower. We were each given a bingo card and then had to fill it in with gifts we thought might be gotten that day and then marked off during the gift opening. Then each take had to choose someone to make a toilet paper brides dress on. Our group had a good time doing that - didn't win but had fun. Refreshments were fruit and cookies and the devotional was really good. Came home, fixed supper and finished up what needed to be done. Deacon did get out of the hospital but they did decide to stay home Sunday which was disappointing since they had one of the birthday girls and I knew she would like the pancake meal. Next year.
Sunday was off to church and then home to make pancakes. I made about 50 some pancakes and had 3 leftover - not much bacon or sausage either. But I'm going to work on being able to make pancakes ahead so I wouldn't feel rushed. We didn't eat till almost one. Another griddle would just make me too busy. Lori and 4 of the kids stayed till church in the evening so scrounged for supper. Need to have a meal in mind in case they do stay. Think I'll pick up more summer sausage - that worked well. Today is at home. Just partially did my list so wasn't up so late so will work on what I did and sort the cards I didn't look at and see what I can get done. Cold morning (24 when I got up) but the sun is shining so it looks pretty.
Sheryl, glad the pet scan went okay and you got to do some relaxing even with it being a test. Did you have to eat a special diet before having it? I was thinking a friend of mine had to. While Lori was here we watched the Call the Midwife special. She said she planned to watch Victoria.
Isabella, how fun to get together with friends - at least you had good visiting even if the food was just okay. I bet the nachos were good. So good to hear CA is mostly out of the drought.
Icy conditions around here only lasted that one day and not even bad then. We've gotten more rain since then. Other places were not as fortunate and had several days of ice.
Marcie, Cisco sure loves his life - nice and easy. Your dad was probably resting up for his next walk. You just need to make a little more kitchen noise. Did you lay on some of the mattresses to check them out? Hope you had comfy shoes for all the walking you ended up doing when you went out to eat once. I was told once that Monday is the least busy night to go eat out and it gets busy each night after that.
Hey, which of your dad's pillows in the picture is the mypillow?
I have a load of laundry going. I walked with my friend. I'm sorting through my cards and trying to knock off some short jobs when I come to them since I don't have any specific deadlines to do. We'll see if that ends up being a good thing to do or not. Have a good Monday.
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Good afternoon everyone.
Looks like our storm is petering out now. Yay. Very light sprinkles on the way in to work this morning, but since then the clouds have broken up and we've actually had some sunshine. That annoying wind has decreased too.
I went online last night and found some walking shoes very similar to the ones I have now. Since mine have been discontinued, I trying to find an acceptable alternative. Those online are the same brand (New Balance) but a different model. Looks similar to mine though. They were on sale for $88. I order two pair (different sizes and widths). When they get here I'll see if I can wear either and then return the second pair. Keeping my fingers crossed that one will work. These are mens should, which I've found work better on my feet than womens.
I painted my nails last night and used a new nail polish I bought last weekend. I didn't realize this shade is one of those that changes colors in different lighting. I thought it was just a pretty light pink color. Once I got to work under the florescent lighting, I noticed they shade had changed to a light yellow. Yuck! I guess I need to read the fine print when buying that stuff.
I was sure sleepy when I got to work this morning. I didn't rest well last night. Kept waking up every hour and then taking about 15 minutes to fall back to sleep each time. During my morning break this morning I went down to my car in the parking garage, covered up with a blank, set my little egg timer I keep in the car, and slept my 20 minute break away. Sure felt good.
I'm having a V8 (low sodium) and a couple clementines for lunch today. I've been on a V8 kick the last couple weeks. Celery, V8 and citrus fruit are my current go to's. I get that way. I get stuck on certain food items and once I get tired of them, I won't buy them again for a long time. I'm sure by the time summer hits, it will be all about cherries, melons and cucumbers.
Debora, the My Pillow on Dad's bed are the one in the white pillow case. Naw, Dad wasn't resting for the next walk. He typically takes a nap everyday for about an hour. He tells me anything beyond that doesn't fall into the "nap" category. My naps, when I get one (which I didn't last weekend) tend to be a minimum of 2 hours.
Sheryl, yay that the birds got to go swimming! John (and you!!) sure looks out for those animals.
Back to work. Have a nice day everyone.
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Good morning. I enjoyed being home all day. I took care of a few things that didn't take long but have been sitting on the list and also missed doing a couple of things I needed to do but hurried and did them in the evening. Today we are headed out. It's half price day at the Etc. Shop so will check out the books and take in the things I could leave last week. Then onto another town to a bookstore going out of business to look for study Bibles to send to Kenya. We're hoping they are even more marked down than 40% and then to Chick-Fil-A to get the free meal for eating there one certain day in December. The plan is to have me home by 2 so I can go in and set up for Good News Club. Today starts our spring session so don't know if we'll have a lot or a few kids. I think I'll be thankful to be home this evening. DH finished up the leftover pancakes for supper last night and I had vienna sausages and crackers. It's not a healthy meal but one I enjoy occasionally - childhood treat. Hope each of you have a good day. Starting out at 34 so should warm up to the 50s again. Nice.
Marcie, interesting nail polish. Didn't know they made any that changes color. Yay on finding similar shoes. Hope one pair fits. Hope you slept better last night. Glad it was nice enough to take a nap in your car. A short snooze can be a big help. At least you current kick is healthy. Nice that your dad can sleep for a set time. When I took naps, I always set a timer but often ignored it and they varied. Now 15 - 30 minutes can be a good boost for me. Hope your commute is a good one today. Ralph is having more headaches and I wondered if a different pillow would help although he gets some during the day. Need to switch out for a different one here to start with.
Have a good day.0 -
Good Morning. Looking forward to Bible study today. After being home with John for 3 days, I'm ready to get out and see other people. Not that I don't love to be with John, but I realize now how much I like seeing other people. When I was working, outside mowing lawns, I really didn't talk to many people, but I was out there seeing them. Watching what went on in the various neighborhoods. Kind of fun. Anyway, I'm ready to get out today.
Debora, no special prep for the PET scan, it was not like the colonoscopy. They did ask that I eat more protein than carbs the night before and then nothing after midnight. I could drink water, but no other liquids. So, I had to skip my morning coffee. I survived! Was so ready for lunch when I was done, but needed to run errands and didn't eat until I brought Subway sandwiches home and ate with John. I will get the scan results when I see the oncologist next Monday.
I recorded the Call the Midwife special but haven't watched it yet. I also got the second episode of Victoria on dvd, plus the first episode of the second season of Mercy Street. I still haven't watched any of the first season, but I have it...someday. I thought winter would be the perfect time to catch up on some of these shows, but it's not happening.
A big pancake breakfast feast for dinner sounds fun. When I was a kid, we had those at our church. Along with ice cream socials, great memories. But, if you were the only cook, I can imagine you were really hopping in the kitchen to keep those cakes a comin'.
Marcie, hope the shoes work out well. I believe I've told you before that I'm like you...men's shoes fit so much better, naturally wider than women's shoes. I go for comfort, not style. With the exception of the shoes I bought for Joel and Janelle's wedding, all my shoes are men's shoes.
My doctors appointments are running into February. I had the pulmonary doctor scheduled for January 30th, he wanted to see me after all the referrals he ordered were completed. But, the neurologist wouldn't even make the appointment until the other 2 tests were completed, so when I called for the appointment yesterday morning, the earliest I can get in now is February 2nd. I called the pulmonary office to reschedule and that got pushed to February 16th. I feel it's going to be another year of many doctors' appointments.
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Good Morning, yesterday did not go as planned, but in many ways, turned out better. Just as I was to head out the door to go start the car and warm up the engine, I thought I should check email, so glad I did. There was a notice from the pastor that Bible study was cancelled. He apologized for the short notice but he wasn't feeling well. I called Carol to see if she wanted to meet up for lunch, after all, I was showered and prepped and ready to go. She had other plans, BUT, I was able to talk John into going out to lunch with me. We had a wonderful time, just getting out of the house and out and around. Quick stop at the bank and the post office and then Mexican. A short drive around town, just because. Nice to see what's around and keep John out as long as possible. I also made a quick stop at Safeway on our way home to pick up a few things, last day of my coupons. John stayed in the toasty car. No wind, but it was chilly yesterday. Came home stuffed and ready to laze around the rest of the day. I haven't completed my food log for yesterday, I know I'll be way over in calories and sodium. I over-indulged.
Staying home today, I think I'll make it laundry day. I have never gotten into a set routine of a certain laundry day each week, just when I can't find anything clean, then it's time to wash it all. I will also clean and prepare for the new woodstove. Since I'll be gone most of tomorrow, I need to do it today so I'm ready for Friday's installation.
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Good Morning. Today will be a busy one, not like Debora, but busy for me...have more than one thing in a day. Heading out at 10 am to have a mammogram. Will be home for a few hours in the afternoon, but then leaving again about 5 pm for the 6 pm public hearing in front of the County Commissioners about the development behind us. I don't plan to speak, not that I could be heard anyway, but this meeting is not about storm water drainage. I'm going mainly to find out exactly what it is about, the notice I got in the mail is so confusing, I can't really figure out what their problem is.
I did receive a bill from my lawyer showing hours that he has spent on my drainage problem. So, I guess he's doing something, just not a fix yet.
Not sure if John will be going with me or not. He changes his mind at the last minute, sometimes not to go and sometimes he'll ask if he can go. I want him to go except that he can't hear and will constantly ask me what was said, and then, I'll miss the next item said. We'll see what happens and deal with it.
John told me that he planned to watch a program on tv last night about Alzheimer's/dementia. I fell asleep but recorded it and we can watch it together later. I don't know what his take on it was, and I assume when I ask about it, he won't even remember watching it.
So weird, I had an email in my inbox this morning from a cousin who passed away a few years ago. I deleted it without opening it. I know it was spam of some sort. What I could read without opening it, the first bit of the message that shows in the inbox, stated "try this, I couldn't believe how this works", so I assume some company hacked this to make us open it since it supposedly would be from a trusted family member. Good thing she's dead, or I would have opened it.
Last year, I got an email from Granny that didn't make any sense. When I asked her about it, she said she never sent it. Scary.
As busy as today will be, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow...the woodstove.0 -
Good afternoon, It's a beautiful day with the sun shining but cold - only getting up to around 32 but I am inside until Bible study. I'm trying to get the house straightened. It's not too bad. Quite a lot of toys out downstairs - evidently Paige was "feeding" lots of people cause there is play food all over. My "big" project is sorting sox. I told Lori I'd do theirs if she brought them out. 7 people and lots of style make for lots of them. I enjoy it and don't have any little ones to move them around. There are a lot in the baskets. Ralph was going to help but got overwhelmed. I decided that only the matched ones are going back and I'll keep the others in a bag and if matches don't show up, they will go by by. I have Bible study this evening so am looking forward to it.
Tuesday went pretty much as planned. When we were at the one bookstore, our missionary friend came there so we invited her to join us at Chick-Fil-A. She didn't order much as she's trying to lose wait so she can have another surgery on her knee before they return to Kenya. She has to use a crutch for stability now. Good News Club went well. We had a couple of new families - hopefully, they'll keep coming. One of the teachers locked her keys in her car so I took an extra two kids home. We got to talking about Wednesday night at our church and invited them. Of course, they had to talk to their parents.
Wednesday morning we worked on the Echoes. We are close to having all the laminated ones we have hole punched. Then we will go back and write dates on pages since they won't be stapled together so if someone would take a page out, they could find it's place again. It will be several months of working yet but I enjoy the person I'm working with and we're only working about 1 1/2 hours a week. We took two cars to church so I could go get the family I invited. I hope they'll keep coming.
Sheryl, glad there wasn't any special prep. Makes it easier. I think you'll enjoy all the shows you've taped if you have time to watch them. I watched the first one on Victoria twice since I was doing other things while I watched. Other than knowing the results, I'd be fine with appointments going into February so your going is spread out a bit more.
Cool on you and John going out for lunch and a nice drive. It's okay to over-indulge once in awhile and logging it makes you see how bad you did or maybe it wasn't as bad as you thought. With MFP, I mostly watch the calories - the other things don't jump out to me. Hope doing laundry is going okay. I did the sheets I changed yesterday so they're ready for the next time. I check each morning (I'm home) to see if one of the baskets is full and do it then.
Yay on getting the mamogram done. I need to get one scheduled and say when it slows down but I don't know if that will happen. Hope going to the meeting clears up the letter. Lawyer fees add up quickly. Glad you didn't open the email. I've gotten a couple of friend requests on Faccebook from people I'm already friends with. Didn't do it again and let them know. How exciting to have the woodstove installation finally almost here. Hope it all goes smoothly.
Off to sort more socks.
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Hi all.
It's a beautiful, sunny, chilly winters day here today. We should coast into the weekend like this, but may get a little more rain at the start of next week. Nothing like the last few weeks though.
Tuesday night Dad attended his first ever meeting at the local Veterans of Foreign Wars building (of course Dad's was Vietnam...he was in the Navy on a battle ship during the early years of that conflict). It is located way across town, a bit of a drive, but not too bad. They've been inviting him to attend their monthly meetings for many years, and he thought he would give it look-see. Said it was a lot of pomp and circumstance (pledging allegiance to the flag, saluting, etc.), took a vote on collecting $100 to send some care packages to soldiers stationed in the middle east, had some refreshments, etc. He said with the exception of one young man, everyone who attended were from the Vietnam conflict.
My new New Balance walking shoes arrived yesterday. I had ordered two sizes and the smallest fit perfectly. I'm noting that model, size and width and will order them again in the future when needed. I'll be returning the larger sized shoes as soon as they email me the return label.
Cisco was in the proverbial dog house with Dad when I got home from work yesterday. Lately he has taken to racing out the front door when someone is there or when a delivery was just dropped off. Every now and then whoever was there fails to latch the front gate when they leave, so we get concerned that if Cisco gets out on the front porch, he'll be able to get out through the open gate. Point forward, he will be wearing his color with license tags all the time (so we have something to grab and/or if he does get out, our contact info is with him (he's chipped too). Personally, I never open the door unless I'm sure the gate is closed, but Dad slips up on that now and then. Got a little annoying last night with Cisco's licenses clanking every time he moved, so I looked online and of course Amazon had this to fix that...
Should arrive tomorrow. The little pouch will hold his licenses and eliminate the clanking.
Sheryl, you have a busy day today. Hopefully John will want to sit out the public hearing so you can concentrate on what is being said. As I was scrolling through the guide on the TV last night I recall seeing that program listed about Alheimer's/dementia and thought of John. Those spammers/phishers irratate me to no end. I've gotten to the point where I will very rarely click on a link in a email. I go to the main website, or contact the directly the person they are purporting to be. A number of years ago spam-type emails were going around to the people in my contact list here at work. For months I had to keep telling people IT'S NOT FROM ME!!! Our firewalls here at work at much more secure now and this hasn't happened for a long time.
Deborah, what do you like to get at Chic-Fil-A? So far I've just tried their chicken sandwich, but found it to be way too salty tasting. Since I bought their 2017 calendar, each month I can go in to get a free item. This month the free item is a bowl of one of their soups.
Back to work. Is this week ever going to end???
Here's a pretty Spring-like picture. I ran across it on Facebook the other day. Love water colors.
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Good Morning. I guess we were all busy yesterday, no one came by here to comment. The woodstove guys showed up at 9:30 and were here until a little after 4 pm. A few glitches, but they worked it out and made it look wonderful. One major glitch is that when the chimney was leaking, I kept calling the roofer to come fix it, so they really slathered on the tar all around the chimney and that caused a huge goo mess and the guys yesterday had to destroy some of the shingles to get to the flashing to remove the old chimney. Long story short, I called the roofer to let him know and find out if the guys could remove more shingles to make the job right and if he could repair the roof asap. Naturally, I got voice mail, but about 1/2 hour later, Bill, the roofer, pulled into the driveway. So they all went on the roof, came up with a good plan and the woodstove guys continued. Bill will be back today to repair the roof. I am so impressed with Bill, he gives full attention every time I call him.
I am not going to start a fire in the woodstove until the roof is finished. But, here are photos of the old stove vs the new stove, sans fire.
I am super pleased with the new look. Can hardly wait to watch the fire through the glass door. So funny, while taking photos yesterday, I'd look at each photo on the camera just after the flash and told myself that the glass door was reflecting the flash. After putting them in the computer and viewing them more clearly, I see that it's not a reflection, it's that we can see the new CLEAN firebricks inside, through the glass.
Thursday night's meeting was really interesting. First, it was not in front of the County Commissioners as before, it was only one man, a hearing examiner. Again, I'll try to make this long story short, but it's involved. I determined that it's all technicalities in the plat plans. Two tracts of the original engineering plans are designated "tracts" and are unbuildable due to the wetlands, the other areas are designated "lots". The County recognizes the distinction. The developer says that "tracts" and "lots" are synonymous and wants to be given permission to make those two parcels permissible by putting them into another development directly north of this one. So, instead of putting in the 5 houses that he's approved for, he wants to build 7 houses. The original tracts A & B in question will remain the wetlands barrier and are still unbuildable. The examiner will publish his decision within 14 days, I'll get a copy of that in the mail.
At the meeting, I met 2 of the neighbors back there and had a chance to tell them a bit of our drainage problem. They were totally unaware and seemed concerned. The one man said "that can't be good for your llamas", I agreed and told them we are ankle deep in mud and standing water makes grazing impossible in a majority of the pasture. We'll see if they do anything. They told me that their HOA isn't fully functional and they have not had any meetings to discuss anything. Maybe I can be first on their agenda.
My mammogram Thursday morning shows the cancer is back in the breast. They also did an ultrasound to get even more images. I'll have more details when I talk to Dr. Smith on Monday and go over all the reports. I'm anxious to see what the PET scan shows. But, from what he told me when he ordered these tests, surgery is in my future. I'll have to do a lot of planning to get things settled here on our property before I am unable to complete chores and projects for awhile. Some of our plans for what we wanted to do in better weather will likely get changed.
Gayla's being pampered at work, and rightly so. She's got the seniority and, even more importantly, is extremely well liked by co-workers and her clients, so they are bending over backwards to make her comfortable. Moved her cubicle closer to the bathroom and are putting in a printer at her desk so she doesn't have to get up and walk back to the big printer.
She said she doesn't want any special treatment, but I told her she deserves it and should take it.
At some point today, I'll head up to the stove store and finish paying for the woodstove. I'm sure they want the rest of their money. I did not pay in full beforehand because they had quoted me all the possible necessary pipes, and since the guys were able to make a straight chimney, all the elbows and extra stuff got taken off. I would not have paid in full anyway, need some leverage. The stove guy told me yesterday, just before leaving, that he removed over $300.00 worth of parts from the invoice. Yay!!!!! Plus, it looks so much better than having a big elbow bend in the pipe from the stove to the ceiling. I am pleased.
I guess that's it for now, time for a mug of coffee...0 -
Oh yes, John did not go with me Thursday night. Just as well, he would have been totally confused, I know I was.
It was hard enough trying to keep John out of the stove guys' way yesterday. He's so inquisitive, but asking the same questions over and over and over.0 -
Hi ladies, boy, it sure has been a long week! Our computer system at work has been VERY slow this week and is driving everyone crazy. Then yesterday it pretty much came to a screeching halt. Our IT dept. spent all morning trying to figure out the problem without much success. I only got 4 very minor things taken care of all day. It helped that we had a nice potluck at lunch for a gal who is leaving. I made deviled eggs again by request. I used buttermilk this time and they were really good. I pulled a muscle or ligament in my arm and shoulder a few days ago and holding the mouse for so long was really painful so finally at 4pm I asked my supervisor if I could go home. Last night we got caught up on some shows and tonight we'll probably watch one of the movies we have recorded. We are invited to our friend Mona's for soup and salad at 5pm but Dan doesn't think he wants to go. I'm hoping he'll change his mind but if not, it's OK.
Sheryl, so sorry to hear that the cancer is back. You have a great group of Drs. and some really good info with Ty Bolinger and his group so I know you are going to be OK. Tough to have to go thru this again though. Your new wood stove looks wonderful. Looks like they did a great job! Your roofer is pretty amazing too, coming out right away to assess the situation with the stove installers to come up with the best way to handle the job is worth a mint! Nice that you and John were able to get out of the house and go to lunch. Good that you didn't open that e-mail. I hate getting stuff like that. I was getting that stuff at work every day for a couple of weeks and kept reporting it to IT and it finally stopped.
Debora, the bridal shower you attended sounds like it was fun. Your pancake party sounds great too. I have frozen leftover pancakes before and they freeze well so that might be an idea for next time. Are the Vienna sausages those little sausages in the can? I remember having them a couple of times when I was young. Funny about sorting all those socks. Wise to pull the loners out of the bunch until their mates turn up.
Marcie, glad that your new shoes worked out. Nice that the smaller size was the size that fit. Did you find any beds that you might consider in the future? We like our tempurpedic pretty well and I have a couple of friends that really like their sleep number bed. That little tag holder for Cisco is a really cute and clever idea.
Well, I'm going to close for now and go out and enjoy some of that beautiful sunshine we have today. It is actually in the 60's and is expected to get into the 70's this coming week. YAY!!!0 -
Good afternoon. Everyone one has left and Ralph and I are enjoying a quiet house after a couple of busy days. Looking out the window is nice as the sun is shining so it looks cheerful and it is warmer - almost up to 60. A nice change.
Thursday I had the day at home. I worked on straightening the house for Sunday and sorting sox for Lori. Ralph was going to help but he said they had too many kinds. There are 7 people and they buy what's on sale or what's at the thrift store or whatever so yes there is but I just deal with it. I like to lay them all the same way too and he wasn't so it was okay that he quit. I have two big tables and they were pretty well covered. I ended up with a heaping laundry basket of matched socks and 2 walmart sacks with unmatched that are staying here until they want me to sort them again. Got some other little things done and did my Friday list before I left for Bible study - it helps me to make a list even if I do nothing off it.
Friday turned out to be a full day of running. We went to town for the usual errands and got home right at noon. We ate the sub we had picked up at Walmart and headed off to a friend from church so Ralph could look at the study Bible he had and then went to Newton. I went to Etc. while he went to Book Reviews and we both got some books. Then it was on to Wichita. We went to all three Book-A-Holic stores to look for study Bibles (not much success for the price we were hoping to pay), ate at Burger King, went to the JV game that grandson Thomas played in (they won) and went to the varsity game at Valley Center since granddaughter Brecken was going to do a dance thing at halftime (with lots of other little girls). Of course, we had to pay to get in so we stayed till almost the end of the game - it was a good game - just didn't know many players. Usually I only see all 4 kids at once when we have a family get-together but I found it interesting that I saw all the kids. Julie went I went to the bank. Alan when I dropped Ava's medicine at their house. Lori at Thomas' ballgame and Derek at the Valley Center game.
During the night Lindsey ended up taking Deacon to the ER again and he was admitted after about 4 hours in the ER. Saturday morning Ralph and I went to Lori's so I could babysit while she took a CPR class for work and Ralph went around to all the DAV stores. It's not set up yet but we found out where the a lot of the books will go from the nice DAV bookstore that closed. So that was the bright spot of the day for him. While I was at Lori's I worked on things there. We got the girls room cleaned up. I did the basics in the three bathrooms, the hall, the living room and the kitchen, and did the dishes, and washed and dried some laundry. We ate and after I got Maggie down for a nap, then I worked on folding laundry - had lots of piles on the living room floor. They told me today it did all get put away. When we got home, I did what I needed for today. We finished the Walmart sub for supper - nice and easy. And Deacon got to go home in the evening so hopefully he can keep doing okay and avoid the hospital.
This morning I got the bargain pork (sirloin roast for $1.19) and salsa into the crockpot, did our pills, set the table and got ready for church. I had a fun lesson to teach as it was David and Goliath. Our pastor finished a 7 week series on Jude just in time for our Bible Conference next week. We had pork tacos for dinner - I did forget to get lettuce but otherwise, they seemed to be enjoyed. Since my sister was not here (having Christmas with her kids), I said to just stack the dishes. And everyone headed home shortly after 2. Ralph with Jim and at the church they changed the flat we had at church (had hitched a ride home) so Ralph will take care of that tomorrow. I decided to do enough dishes to fill the drainer and got everything done. The upstairs had not gotten messed up much so went downstairs to do it. Paige was evidently having quite the party. Lots of play plates set out - each one with one piece of food on them. Not hard to clean up but funny to see. I'll have popcorn for supper and work on getting my list taken care of and then can answer emails and things like that. I have a tupperware party to go to in the morning. I told her I'm coming cause she's having it. I don't plan to buy anything (I'm happy with my rubbermaid), unless I can get something that she would like to have to take back to Kenya. Other than that I think I have tomorrow at home. Yay
Marcie, glad you've had some rainless days now. Will your dad go back to more meetings of the Veterans of Foreign Wars? Nice that he checked it out. I like the colors in your new shoe. So glad one of them fit (and you're off and walking). Cisco is so quick - wearing his collar all the time is smart - glad you found a way to keep the tags quiet. What did you type in to look for something like that?
At Chick-Fil-A I just get the original sandwich and waffle fries which I love. I don't add salt at home but don't usually notice it when we eat out. I like the idea of the free items but you probably had to pay for the calendar. Love the spring picture. That bright yellow makes the bird really stand out.
Sheryl, the woodstove looks great and so nice that your roof guy worked so well with them. Is it cold enough to build a fire to try it out? Glad you got to go to the meeting by yourself since it was different that you thought and you could concentrate plus the contacts you made could be valuable.
I am so sorry to hear the cancer is back. Now even more appointments and as you said, the planning you need to do for things at home. Great that you've gotten several projects taken care of.
Nice to hear they are pampering Gayla. It will make her work easier. Nice to have to pay less than planned. They say it's good to only pay part ahead of time. Now you want to pay for it so you don't have to think about it and can just enjoy the stove.
Isabella, having slow computers at work must have been frustrating. Leaving early sounds good even if you had a sore arm. Potluck sounds fun. Send a deviled egg this way. And a quiet evening with Dan is always nice for you. Did you end up going to Mona's?
Yes, I think freezing pancakes ahead will be on the agenda for next time. Yes, the vienna sausages are those that come in a can.
Well, this didn't turn out as long as I thought it might but long enough. Think I'll be ready for popcorn soon.
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Good Morning. Felt bleh yesterday morning and didn't make it over here. After looking for the roofer all day Saturday, I called and left a message about 3:30 pm. Late enough that I felt he needed a reminder, but still some daylight left, if he were able to come over. I got voice mail, naturally. He did not come. Since it appeared that the weather would cooperate, I did not call him on Sunday, I didn't want to be a nag. Figured he'd get here when he could get here. Not much I could do, there's absolutely NO WAY I'd try to get on the roof and tarp it, so, if it rained, I'd deal with the aftermath of that problem, if it happened. Well, about 4:30 yesterday, I was on the phone with Norma, and I saw movement out in the driveway and headlights at the gate and realized that Bill was here. Fortunately, John had seen him before I did and went out to open the big gate and let him in. He did a "patch" job and will be back on Tuesday to finish it up right. He apologized profusely, he had totally forgotten to come back Friday and then left for the weekend. All is well now, except that I still will not start a fire and test out the stove until after tomorrow...I am so anxious and excited.
Having problems with John regarding the woodstove. He is not happy, says the handle is on wrong, needs to be turned 180 degrees. I told him not to do anything until after we use it a little. After heating it up and getting the new stiff gasket in the door to take a set, I think the door will close properly and the handle will turn all the way into the position that John wants. He wants it to look like the picture on the owners' manual and right now, it sticks up in the upward position instead of sticking out to the left when closed. I can make it stick out to the left, but it's tight and John had a fit when I forced it. He says that this woodstove was a big mistake, but, I trust that after we use it for awhile, he'll forget this train of thought. I told him that I can go back to the store and check out how the door handles are on the display ones. His answer to that...if they did ours wrong, then probably all the stoves in the store are assembled wrong as well. I can't win. Every 10 minutes, he said that he will never touch the woodstove again and I'm in charge of it all, then he's back over there fiddling with it. And, I'm not exaggerating, I timed him and it was literally approx. 10 minutes in between 5 separate episodes. He got really mad at me last night, but fortunately, after cooling off, he forgot all about it. I guess I can be thankful for that.
I was hoping that John would go with me to the doctor's office this morning and then we could go out to lunch plus do something fun while we're out, but he's in no mood to go. I feel so sorry for him, he doesn't find any joy in anything. He and my Mom should get together. I talked to Mom yesterday afternoon and got nothing but complaints. So sad. Norma and I are going to make sure we never turn out that way. Good thing we take after our Dad. He had the best attitude I've ever seen in an aging person, except for maybe his Dad, Grandpa was the greatest at looking for the sunny side also.
Isabella, look for an email from me about Ty's essential oils book, they sent me a great deal, but there's a time limit.
Debora, I need you here to help me clean up my house too, but then, what would your kids do without you. I have so much to do before possibly being laid up for awhile. I stacked some boxes right next to my bed to go through, and I have got to do that so that if I need a caregiver to help me in and out of bed, they can get to me. ha ha ha
I'll need to clean out the spare bedroom too, so there's a space for help/guests to stay. That bedroom is my catch-all and I've filled it again, stuff all over the bed and floor.
I guess it's time to go. I'll let you know what I find out at my appointment today.
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Good Morning. Had a great day yesterday, even including the doctor's visit where it's definite that I need surgery. But, I'll back up first and tell you that John decided to go with me. Yay!! Any reason to get him out of the house is a victory for me. He wanted to go to the woodstove store and "talk" to them about the door handle. I said that I want him to shower, put on clean clothes and go with me to the doctor, lunch, and then we'd go to the woodstove store. He agreed. I did come to the realization that the reason he doesn't shower as much as before, or as much as I'd like him to, is that he's forgotten how. We had that same problem with his mom and I have heard that it's common with dementia patients, but I was just ignoring the signs in John. He was asking me things that I had taken for granted. Step by step, we went through it. Yes, there is soap already in the tub area, yes, that's the shampoo, yes, this towel is your towel and here is your wash cloth, you can put it here so it's easy to reach. Then, we went on to clean clothes...wow, such an eye opener. He forgot where to get a clean shirt, the wardrobe door was partially closed and all he saw were his overalls. Didn't recognize that he needs to slide the door over to view his shirts. He's used to putting on the same shirt and overalls that he left at the foot of the bed from the night before. I will have to remember to help him now, not just send him into the bedroom with verbal instructions. That's meaningless now and I have to remember to go with him and help. Of course, I need to be thick skinned and not get upset when he says "I can do it myself" when we both know that he can no longer do it himself.
Dr. Smith said that surgery is definitely the next course of action. I made an appointment with the surgeon, Dr. Toni Storm-Dickerson, Thursday, Feb 9th. She is wonderful, I saw her first back in 2014, when I got the diagnosis of cancer. She has a great reputation in the whole county. When I had the biopsy done, I asked nurses at the hospital who they would go to and they said Storm-Dickerson is the best there is. And, I was so pleased when my PCP referred me to her without my ever having to say anything. So, I'm in good hands. After I consult with her, I'll have more details on what the surgery will entail.
Next, John and I went to Kitchen Table Café for lunch. He is so overwhelmed by a menu, I need to simply take his menu away and not even let him look at it anymore. When we walked in, I always look at the specials board, they have a Reuben sandwich on special right now. We ended up getting our fall-back favorites...John a burger/fries and I got my avocado benedict. As we were sitting there, two Reuben sandwiches went by to the table next to us. Boy, they looked good. John even commented, "I wish I got that"! So, I jumped on that and told him that we have to come back and get it, Wednesday. Tomorrow, I go back to Compass Oncology for a finger prick to check warfarin levels and then I get to go to lunch again. I had made plans to meet Carol for lunch, so I told John he has to come with me and we'll get the sandwich. I will make him go this time, I can now tell him that he told me he would go and he told me he wants to go. That seems to do the trick these days, if I tell him that even if he doesn't remember, I'm fulfilling his wishes. Boy, I can really use that to my advantage, BUT, I better not abuse my power.
Then, off to Morton's Stoves. The guys there are so nice and SO patient. I believe he convinced John that our stove door handle is on correctly and the picture on the owner's manual is just someone's drawing and doesn't mean a thing. After our stove gets used and warms up and cools down a few times, plus the gaskets gets seated, the door will open and close just fine. John seemed satisfied. Of course, when we got home, John looked it over very carefully and came up with a new problem. The gasket. It's not laying within the channel at one of the corners. It sticks out and that's most likely another reason why the door is hard to close, the gasket is too thick right there in that spot. Worse case scenario is that I remove the door, (easy to take off) take it to the store and have them redo the gasket. That's not a big deal, but John makes it a big deal. I guess I have to realized that he is going to work real hard at finding something wrong with everything. Oh Great!!!!
Today, we'll wait for the roofers to come do the repair. I'm skipping Bible study today. Tomorrow we go out again, can hardly wait, I am loving this going out. In fact, I'll be going out every day the rest of the week. Thursday, I see the neurologist and Friday, I'm getting the car serviced. Busy week.0 -
Good afternoon, beautiful day looking outside but it's not warming up very fast. Good News Club went good yesterday even with one teacher gone and one with a cold. We had 3 new ones but a couple from last week didn't come. I took 6 kids home again. Fixed our frozen pizza for supper so it was off the ice trays. This morning I went and worked on the Echoes. We're taking the next two weeks off - one for the Bible Conference and one cause I have another meeting. Tonight is church and we'll again take two cars as the kid I brought last week want to come again. Yay. I'm making two eclair cakes this afternoon to use for refreshments at our Women's group tomorrow. Can't procrastinate much longer.
Sheryl, if things are okay John has nothing to think about so he almost searches for something wrong and you handle him doing it so well. Nice that the people at the store are so patient too. It is hard to see people be so unhappy as they get older. That wouldn't be my choice - hope I have some say in it. Oh my, there's so much more I need to do to my house. The good thing for you is you had in all in order when you went through things before so the stuff has not been there that long so I think it won't take you too long to do. At least you have a little time o take care of it.
Nice that you understand now why John doesn't want to do some things like take a shower but it's still not always to deal with. You amaze me. Nice to get to eat out yesterday and again today and I love the places you get to eat. My hubby mainly likes to do fast food but it's still a meal I don't have to cook so I won't complain. I'm sure you and Carol will enjoy your visit - just have to not cover some topics with John along. Sure glad they are moving along quicker with this bout of cancer and you don't have too long before you see the surgeon and it's one you like.
You are having a busy week. Enjoy the times - with or without John.
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We had some nice warm days and now it's back to cold again. Woke up to 17 - might get up to 30 - at least the sun is shining. I got the ecclair cakes made. Will cut them when I see how many are at the meeting. Don't mind a piece or two but don't need a lot left. And if there are a lot of people we can make the pieces smaller. I have gathered together what I need to take and finished up what I think was left to do for the tax person - again did not take that long but I thought it would.
I am not going to weigh myself for a few days. I weighed the fudge I was given and put the calories in over several days but once I got started, I keep taking bites. I just haven't been real good the last few days but there's always tomorrow. Tonight I have some time between meetings so Matthew and Julie are meeting up for supper. Ralph is going to a dinner meeting himself. Fun stuff to do.
Hope all of you are having a good day.0
