Fourth Quarter Posts: October through December 2015.
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Helene - I love happy endings. I'm so happy your DH is home. Is he going to have to continue to go to physical therapy?
Our house is white stucco with a small amount of siding on the second floor. The dormers in the front and the second floor in the back. Roof is now dark grey and shutters are black. Siding is currently light green. I like it the way it is. I guess I'm like a cat - I hate change. I have unequivocally ruled out (1) beige, (2) dark brown, (3) walnut, and (4) dark grey. I'm open to something like a colonial blue, which I think would be sort of modern. Or a light to medium shade of green. The guy is coming this afternoon with samples. DH says he has a lot of samples.
Late this morning the plumber is coming to install the stove. Supposedly a 3-hour job. I finally have a brand new stove and I can't use it yet!
The people we bought the house from did a LOT of wallpapering. Both rooms upstairs were papered. We ripped that off before we moved in. The dining room is wallpapered from a chair rail up. They did a nice job with that room. The kitchen was wallpapered to match the appliances and the cupboard doors were painted to match as well. The kitchen really needs to be gutted but I can't imagine that's going to happen any time soon. This is the year for the roof and the siding and oven and possibly a new garage door!0 -
Helene--You are fortunate that DH does everything he is supposed to do. He is really invested in his recovery. The goodies for the staff were very thoughtful. I'm going back to Hawaii for what may be the last time.
Maryanne--I'm like you; change is not easy. I think whatever you choose you will have to live with for a long time. It is a big financial investment but it is so hard to make decisions based upon little samples. If you could find an online site that permits you to change colors, combinations, etc. of a house, it might help.
I'm not working again today but do work tomorrow. I didn't sleep well last night. All this rain has contributed to aches and pains...and my legs complained nearly all night.0 -
Maryanne--I'm like you; change is not easy. I think whatever you choose you will have to live with for a long time. It is a big financial investment but it is so hard to make decisions based upon little samples. If you could find an online site that permits you to change colors, combinations, etc. of a house, it might help.
That's exactly what DH said he'd like to have. A web site where we could change the color of the siding on our house! The good news is that because there's so little siding on our house it isn't nearly the investment the roof was.0 -
Look at the before and after on these pictures as to what can be done with the right touch:
http://www.hgtv.com/design/outdoor-design/landscaping-and-hardscaping/15-before-and-after-curb-appeal-makeovers-pictures0 -
I've been MIA again. It's been a busy week for me and I only have a few minutes now before I have to leave for my volunteer shift at the library.
On Sunday DH and I drove down to my cousin's home, about an hour and a half away. My cousins from North Carolina were visiting and she had invited my sister and her husband and us to come for a couple of days of cousin time. We really enjoyed our visit. It had been three years since I had seen the NC cousins, so it was really nice to get to catch up with them.
This week is a short week since we got back Tuesday afternoon and we are getting ready to leave for New York on Saturday. I'm still trying to figure out what to take, what shoes I can walk comfortably in, and what kind of weather to be prepared for. DH and I always prefer not to check our bags if possible, so I need to keep what I'm taking to a minimum and make sure I can mix and match as much as possible.
Tomorrow I have an appointment at the local Social Security office to sign up to start receiving benefits. I tried to do it online but kept having problems with the site, so I gave up and made an appointment. I would try to log in using the user name and password they supplied me, and then I would get the message "You do not have an account." So then I would try to set up the account and fill out all the fields and then I would get the message "You already have an account and can't open a new one." Incredibly frustrating. Hopefully the in person experience will go more smoothly.
I'm out of time, but I wanted to check in. I hope everyone is doing well.0 -
Pam and Jean - I hope you have great trips.
I'm still being amazed by the fact that all I have to do now to use an oven is walk to the kitchen and turn in on. Wow!!!
Plumber didn't get here until 3 pm yesterday. So the cats were sequestered upstairs a LONG time. And by the time he was done I didn't even try making dinner in the oven.
We set up today for a flea market. Hard work but hopefully we'll be done by early afternoon. Maybe I can use the oven today!0 -
Happy Halloween, everyone!! I went and bought limited amount of candy just in case some stopped by. Most find the community parties more fun than going house to house.
Pam--I prefer to check bags myself. Some people over pack a legitimate sized carryon to the point it bulges far beyond the allowed dimensions...and then wonder why it won't fit or why the airline wants it checked. I would rather pay $25 to check a bag than lug a bag around an airport during connections. Enjoy your trip.
Maryanne--I hope the oven works well for you. What exotic meal are you planning to prepare?
I went to the local overpriced supermarket to get a few things to tide me over until the trip and to have in the freezer to await my return. They no longer have Weight Watchers or Lean Cuisine in the cases.0 -
Jean - no weight watchers or lean cuisine? Wow!
The first thing I made in the new oven was a pork tenderloin with McCormick herb crusted tenderloin coating.
The flea market went well. We sold a TON of stuff. Their trick or treak experiment was a dud. One of the volunteers donated candy. If I'd been doing it I'd just have put out bowls of candy but she wanted to hand it out individually. Then she wanted us to start chasing down kids while we were cashiering. Hmmm, I don't think so. If they don't come to us I'm not chasing them down. There just weren't that many kids cashiering. Another volunteer did try chasing down some of the kids and got some parental "uh no thanks" in reply. Like I said a dud.0 -
Maryanne--Your first item prepared in the new oven sounds yummy! Glad the flea market worked out except for the trick or treat. I agree the bowls of candy would have been easier. I had zero trick or treaters and I was not alone; apparently the community sponsored parties, etc. are a bigger draw.
I'm in the process of starting to pack I'll try to check in at times while gone.0 -
I had a long post yesterday and lost it as I was submitting. Brief summary. We had RN, PT and OT doing home evaluations Friday. DH doesn't need OT but RN and PT will come twice a week for 2-3 weeks. Bought a BP monitor and it was a piece of crap. We went to the doctor's office for a comparison and she told us to bring it back. It was the CVS brand. We replaced it with a more expensive name brand but a 25% coupon came in the mail and we saved $25 on it. it seems better but we'll compared to the RN's monitor tomorrow. She was really helpful in reviewing the new meds and when to take them. DH looks and feels good but we're adapting to a whole new lifestyle...low sodium, new meds, regular exercise. We';; adjust but the first few weeks will be a challenge.
Glad to hear the flea market went well and the stove is in. I'll be doing more cooking from scratch because of the sodium in prepared foods.
Jean..Enjoy your trip. Are your niece and friend going too.0 -
Jean - I hope you have a great time on your trip!
Helene - you've definitely got your work cut out for you. I remember the period after my office mate's husband had his heart attack and they had to work on those changes. Probably great motivation overall to eat better and exercise but not the way you'd like to have it.0 -
Today, for instance, I made homemade vegetable soup. I used a can of diced tomatoes, added fresh veggies and a bit of leftover corn. The total sodium in the individual items came to less than 100 milligrams. The flavor was good but DH would have liked the soup a little thicker. I'll work on that aspect next time but it was a good first effort. Even the Progresso Lite soups have way too much sodium for him. I found a Progresso Cooking stock this afternoon that has no added salt. It had 95 milligrams of sodium per serving. I can work with that. I make chicken soup with the carcass of a rotisserie chicken. I use broth and water. Now I'll use the cooking stock instead of the broth.0
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Helene - I'm like your DH - I like my soup thick, or with crackers. How's the sodium in unsalted crackers?0
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He has to eat gluten free and I haven't come across any unsalted GF ones. He's been limiting himself to just a few rice crackers.0
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I made a pot of soup today. I found a Progresso cooking stock with only 90 mg of salt. That's less than a quarter of what the lower sodium broths contain. I cooked the bones of a roasted chicken (leftover from dinner), added rice, lentils, shredded carrots and diced tomatoes into it. When it was done, I picked the chicken off the bones and added some kale. It was pretty tasty and much lower sodium than anything I could buy ready made.0
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Helene - that soup sounds fantastic!0
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We are back from our trip to NYC. It was great but exhausting and I am glad to be home. The play was very good and our niece's fiancé did very well in his debut, despite being thrown a big curveball just before showtime. He is the understudy for two male roles in this play and was notified nearly three weeks in advance that the actor playing one of the roles would be unavailable on this date, which is how we were able to plan our trip and be there. Just before showtime he was notified that the other actor for which he is the understudy was also unavailable that night, so a scramble ensued to find someone who could fill the role, since Daniel couldn't do both roles. Of course, the audience knew nothing about this but after the show he was able to tell us what happened. It definitely increased his anxiety, but he rose above it and gave a great performance.
We met his parents and grandmother, as well as many of their friends. He grew up in New Jersey and went to school in NYC, so there were many supporters who were there for him, in addition to my family. One of his friends had arranged an after party at a beautiful bar that was at one time a church. It had beautiful tall ceilings with paintings and stained glass. We had a great time getting to know some of the people who have known him most of his life. The next day his parents hosted a brunch for us at a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen where we were able to get better acquainted with them. The wedding will be here before long, so it was really nice to have this opportunity to get to know each other a bit.
DH and I tried to go to Central Park on Sunday but had to abort that plan because the NYC Marathon was taking place in the park that day and the park was closed to non-participants. We did walk to Grand Central Station and to the Public Library to see the lions. We walked through Bryant Park and watched the skaters before heading back to our hotel to rest a bit. We met up with our older niece and had dinner in an interesting pizza place that was originally a church with interesting architecture. The next day DH and I went down to lower Manhattan and saw the 9/11 Memorial as well as St. Paul's Chapel, which is near the WTC site and became a center that ministered to the many volunteers who came to help afterward. It was very moving to see how that evolved and read of the many ways that people contributed their talents and skills to help.
After that we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge and walked as far as the first support before turning back. We then walked through a beautiful plaza with huge fountains that was across from City Hall. There were several bridal parties taking pictures in this area following their ceremonies. From there we headed back to a subway stop and made our way back to our hotel to rest for a bit before going to dinner. After dinner we returned to the hotel to dress for the play.
Our last full day in NYC was spent touring The Statue of Liberty and doing a few other touristy things. Truthfully, by this time we were just about exhausted, so we were happy to return early to our hotel room and spend a quiet evening resting in our room. We had considered getting tickets to another play, but didn't see anything that either of us really wanted to see.
The night we were attending Daniel's play, there was some excitement because the President was in town to see the play "Hamilton", which was in a theater located across the street from the back entrance to our hotel. The Secret Service, police, bomb squad, and I'm sure many plainclothes officers were everywhere. We didn't see the President, but we definitely could feel the excitement.
Our hotel was located half a block from Times Square which had its pluses and minuses. The location was very convenient, but it was very congested. And arriving on Halloween night meant there was a huge party going on that lasted into the wee hours. It was very noisy, with sirens going nonstop until about 3:30 am, so we didn't get much sleep that night. It was a little better the other nights, but still pretty noisy.
Despite eating lots of yummy food I don't typically eat, I didn't gain any weight on this trip! Of course, I think we walked at least five miles or more every day, so I would have been shocked if I had gained. We ate a big breakfast every day then didn't eat again until dinner time, which seemed to work pretty well for us. I really wasn't hungry for lunch on those days and we were so busy that I didn't really think about it.
I'm sorry for such a long post. I didn't have internet access in our hotel, so was unable to check in until we got home. I hope all is well with everyone.
Helene, I'm so glad your DH is at home again. I hope the cooking gets easier as you adjust to it. Soon it will be second nature for you to cook this way, and it's probably healthier for both of you.0 -
Pam...Your trip sounds wonderful. I was marveling at all the walking you did so I would have been shocked if you'd gained. How nice you could get to know Daniel and his family better before the wedding. How surprising to hear of more than one restaurant in a former church. I'll bet you're g;ad to be home though.
We spent the afternoon at the hospital while DH got an echo cardiogram. He won't get the results until his appointment next week but he asked the tech how it looked. The tech said of it looked bad, he wouldn't have been allowed to leave. We also met 2 people from a group called Mended hearts. It's a national support group for people with cardiac issues. They meet at the hospital 5-6 times a year and focus on education, lectures, nutrition and support. There's a meeting in 2 weeks so we'll probably check it out. I'll check if there's a group near us in FL as well. We don't know that much about the heart so this should be helpful.
We finished the evening seeing Bridge of Spies; the Tom Hanks movie. It covered events I didn't know much about. I was about 8 when the Gary Powers event happened. It was very well done.0 -
Quiet day today. Therapist and nurse came today. Both finish up next week. It was raining here so the therapist taught DH some indoor exercises he can do holding on to the kitchen counter for support. It included things like squats and leg lifts. He did them but prefers the outdoor walking.0
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Pam - sounds like you had a great trip!
Helene - I'm glad your DH is doing so well.
I had a quiet day yesterday of CROM paperwork (the bane of my existence).0 -
I'm off this morning to take Tuffy and Jessicat to the vet. Always fun. NOT!0
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Cheyenne had her annual visit next Monday. She'll be 18 this month. She doesn't miss Cagney at all and loves be a solo cat. I hope she gets a good report. At that age, you never know.0
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Jessicat and Tuffy are both large grey tabbies with white but at the vet that's where the similarities end. Jessicat goes on the attack (and I have the marks to prove it). Tuffy tries to hide under the towel in his carrier. We all survived although we were there a long time as they had an emergency come in. I'm not sure why someone whose cat was having trouble breathing would drop him/her off at the regular vet in the middle of appointment hours instead of heading directly to the ER but that's apparently what someone did. The poor thing didn't make it.
They were supposed to be calling in some pain meds for me to try with Jessicat for her arthritis but apparently in the confusion that (understandably) didn't happen. Hopefully they'll get it called in today. She's really avoiding even jumping up on my lap any more as well as avoiding the stairs.0 -
I hope Jessica has a good response to the meds. This is sad and strange that the emergency call didn't get to the proper doctor to perhaps save the cat. I guess her family was ignorant about how serious the situation was.
We had a quiet day. The nurse finished up today. It was so helpful having her. we're a lot more educated about cardiac issues and treatment than we were 2 weeks ago. We've had steady rain the rest of the day so I postponed errands until tomorrow hoping the storm passes overnight.0 -
Jean hasn't posted in a while Is she away? I remember her talking about a trip but don't recall when she was going.0
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I'm not sure exactly what days Jean's trip is/was.
I'm working on a work "emergency". As usual, it's because an employer couldn't get their act together until right before a form is due at the government. I think they all picture me sitting here twiddling my thumbs hoping and praying for their emergency.0 -
I think Jean is either in Hawaii or Florida, but she should be back soon. At least I hope she's enjoying some well-deserved R&R time somewhere like one of those two places.
I think I'm finally recovered from our trip to NYC. Getting back into the routine has been a little harder than I expected, but I'm getting there. Tomorrow is my library day and I've been going back to the gym. Not much else going on around here, lol!
MAryanne, I hope you've got your client emergency under control. I can relate to your frustration. Many years ago I worked as a legal secretary to a partner in a large law firm. He had terrible work habits, basically wasting half of the day or more, then kicking it into high gear around 3:00 every afternoon. He expected me to stay every night until he got everything completed and usually couriered and/or FedExed to the client and opposing counsel. After a year of this I asked for a reassignment but was told I would have to discuss it with him first. When I did he basically said that he would block me from being reassigned, to which I replied that he could block me from being moved within the firm but that I had already begun interviewing at other firms and was prepared to leave if I had to. That made an impression, at least. The next day he apologized and asked me to give him another chance. I agreed and we were a team for a total of 4.5 years at which time I quit to go to school full time. We actually became quite fond of each other and he cleaned up his work habits significantly. It's a definite fact that the people who cause the emergencies rarely see how they contribute to causing them.0 -
Pam...That's impressive how you were able to change the behavior of an inconsiderate boss. And he must have really valued you to fight to keep you. You earned his respect by speaking up. Well done!
Maryanne..I hope the emergency worked out. But what a pain to have to deal with people who make simple jobs into crisis. It makes me glad to be retired.
We finished up with the nurse and PT. DH has doctors appointments coming up and test results to discuss. We're planning to drive to NJ for the holiday but we'll run it by the cardiologist to be sure that's okay.0 -
Helene, before me this particular man had gone through six secretaries in one year! One literally ran down the hallway to HR screaming "I can't take it anymore!" So he had a well-deserved reputation for being difficult and I think our HR person was reluctant to reassign someone who had been able to stay with him as long as I had at that point. I didn't know it then, but I held the record for longevity with him at that point. He actually turned into a very decent boss after we reached an "understanding".0
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Good morning, everyone! I am back from the trip which was great but exhausting. I slept 12 hours after getting home but that was "helped" by my not sleeping for about 30 hours on the day and night, and part of another day involved in getting home. The funny thing is that when I got home I found that I have a sleep study scheduled for Sunday night in the city.
Pam--It sounds as if you had a great trip. Great memories were created!!
Helene--You and DH certainly have a lifestyle change in the making. You are doing great with the recipe modifications.
Maryanne--I hope the work emergency resolved itself. Anyone who works with government forms knows that waiting until the last minute is not a good idea.0
This discussion has been closed.