The New Water Cooler
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You can do this! Two more days and it will be over and you can rest.
Rock or cedar mulch take maintenance. The weeds get through no matter what. Mulch disintegrates so you don't end up with rock going deeper and deeper into your soil as you add more after several years. However mulch looks nicer the first year and then fades with sun and weather. I prefer it after having rock. It's a preference thing.
I scheduled a dermatology appt to get an all body skin check for skin cancer. It has been 5 years or more since I've had one and I'm due. It isn't until early August but at least it is on the calendar. I'm waiting for a call back from the wall paper lady. I'm hoping to have it all gone this month so I can prime the walls and then wait and see what we do with backsplash and counter tops. I am making a decision between two peel and stick wallpapers for my guest bathroom. I want nature prints (flowers, vines, etc.) but they need to pull together the blush floor, counter, pink tile strip in shower and gray vanity. I've narrowed it down to two. The prints are bold but fun. We shall see what I order soon. I have to measure and figure out how much I need. Small bathroom and very little wall but the repeat of the pattern is the tricky part.
I weeded quite a bit of the front today and helped spread mulch. I'm sore! More to do tomorrow...0 -
I was thinking about how you still feel lousy after Covid. I don't know if this can happen, but I wonder if your last illness depleted your iron, B-6 or B-12, potassium or magnesium levels in your body? It may be worth it to get a blood panel and see what it shows. Then you can supplement either through pills and/or foods to get your levels back up. If your doctor puts down the idea, a holistic chiropractor, doctor, or osteopathic doctor may be able to help. Or you could take a multi vitamin for women and see if that helps your body feel better. Just a thought...
Today I am going to make a homemade cherry sauce from some fresh, frozen sweet cherries that Russ picked and froze last summer. We will have it over waffles or in a vanilla shake or over ice cream.
I am sore from weeding yesterday. I will work on making my patio tic-tac-toe game (painting rocks) today. Russ has a second load of mulch in his pick up truck and I have weeded enough of the areas for him to put it down. Tomorrow I will resume weeding. It always looks so nice when done. Too bad it doesn't last indefinitely.
I am going to order more wallpaper samples. I'm staring at the same two on the wall in my guest bathroom and don't know what I think about them. Maybe too bold (but fun!). I also want to accent a wall in the laundry room and saw a couple of nature wall papers that I like. One is a pine forest in water colors and the other is birch trees. Since we live in the north woods, they could be a fun accent.
Well you are gearing up for your day of wedding helper. I'm glad the whole family will help you. Sit and rest when needed so you don't relapse. If I could give you a big hug, I would! Hang in there!0 -
Almost done. Whew. A few more hours. LFG0
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Here was a fun moment. The amazing music woman who was our church music director for a number of years and got my boys into their amazing groups and serving through music ministry ended up moving to Omaha. My niece ended up at her church and she played for her wedding. She was such an inspiration to our church times. Loved seeing her again even briefly. My handsome boys all dressed up. I didn’t manage a picture all together though. Boo. Quite the party. Yikes so many drunk people. But it seems fun was had. I think we succeeded in getting all our tasks done and keeping to her vision. Whew. I’m beat. Today I’m just trying to rebound enough to start another week. I hope my sister finally gets some sleep. She was looking ragged.0
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You look so pretty and your boys are men!!!! I'm glad you were able to catch up with your music director friend and that all went well with the wedding. I bet your sister is relieved it is done and went well. I hope you get enough rest today to begin your work week.
I went to the nursery yesterday to get some perennials and annuals to fill in some gaps in my flower gardens. I think the gophers stole and ate some bulbs and that is why some didn't come up. I planted more Cosmos and some bright, gold cone flowers in that gap area. I also put in some yellow snap dragons in another area and some Shasta Daisys in my back garden. Then I weeded the back garden area and am watering it now. I have one more area to weed and told Russ to spray weed killer on the last area since I don't have any plants there that are going to bloom.
I have showered and am relaxing for the rest of the day. Once I finish the last area of weeding I will make my tic tac toe game. Never got to it yesterday. I also need to go collect pretty rocks in the bay to put in my rock area of the back flower garden. My veggie garden is doing well so far.
I hope you can put your feet up today and not worry about anything around your own home.
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For having maybe one 'adult' beverage Saturday night I sure felt crummy all day yesterday. Somebody I work with called it a 'fun' hangover. I think just because it was such a long, LOOOOONNNNNG, stressful day and I didn't probably drink enough good things (like water and electrolytes) or eat enough and then it was super late and all the standing and running around. My body just had to remind me that it didn't like it. I am feeling a bit better today. My legs still hurt terribly and I am quite puffy all over. So, getting there. You know, I honestly barely saw my niece except from afar. I think I got one hug really late on. I'm pretty sure the only picture I will be in with her is the one the photog took at church. People ask, was it beautiful? And, I have to stop myself from just being sarcastic and saying it was busy. The ceremony was lovely and the bride was beautiful. It's just for me, we really weren't in a position to just sit back and bask and enjoy the show. It was a lot of work. I hope it was how she wanted it. I can tell Michele is having some hard feelings because my dad has said some things to her that upset her. He kept saying the Halls (Christian's family) were high (I don't think so, but some were pretty drunk). But even if they were, how is that something she had anything to do with. He kept asking her how much they spent on her 'fancy' event. Ugh. He is such a pain. I actually thought he was on good behavior since the few times I was around him he didn't say anything snide. But, I guess he kept pulling Michele to the side to say things in his special way of letting us know he is unhappy. Of course every time we were around him was to take care of something for him. And he loves Bernie best too. But I figured he would remark on the cost and he did - a lot. He thinks anything spent on not farming means your rich or being stupid with your money. We just maybe choose to spend some of our money on our kids. He didn't choose to spend on us that way, so it's something he gets upset about. She is afraid he will keep bringing it up, and I said of course he will. Which didn't make her happy, but I'm not going to lie. I mean at some point I'll probably also say something that will make her feel bad - i.e. her and Caitlin made a point to say that they really hoped Bernie and Caleb could come to the Friday night dinner to help get it ready and keep it going. So I made Caleb come home Friday and Bernie come along - and then when I get to the church with all of us Friday night and say ok - what can they boys do? I get, oh, I think it's all taken care of. Perfect. Caleb didn't want to come home Friday, but I made him and now there was no reason for him being her. Fun. Plus, I probably will tell her at some point that all the tasks us and the other couple were responsible for could have been slimmed a little. There really should have just a single separate person for guess book/card box watching (we kept having to try to do that and then run off to do something else) and cake cutting definitely could have been someone else. There are so many aunts/uncles and cousins in the those families. In no way did only us two couples need to be taking care of cutting and serving cakes for 250 people after everything we had to do. Yes, happy to help, but we probably didn't need to run ourselves silly. None of the four of us even had time to each lunch. And barely got our supper in before starting cake. Sigh. So, yeah, that will probably hurt feelings. If they ask, I won't lie.
Merp.
Back to the dermatologist for more spot checks tomorrow. More normal week this week I believe. Whew.0 -
If your sister and her husband make enough money to put on a lovely wedding, your Dad should stay out of it. It's their money. On the other hand, why didn't they let the venue do the cake cutting or spread the help around? Couldn't some of Caitlin's friends been assigned to help? You and your family didn't get to enjoy the wedding and share her joy. Maybe when the boys get married you can make sure their fiance' doesn't do it that way. I suppose as weddings get more expensive, the bride and family have more people pitch in to "help" to shave off some costs. Depends on the venue too. Some are cheaper if you do everything yourself. I hope you get some rest and can let the tension go. My sister's comment on things we buy or plan to do with our house. It comes down to "how much will that cost?" "Oh, that's a lot!"
My wallpaper will come down tomorrow and what I am paying to have it done right and cleaned up caused comment with both my sisters. I have the money so what do they care? It is still under my top ceiling but of course more than I wanted to pay, but it's a *kitten* job I don't want to do. Worth it to me!
Did C stay home through Sunday to visit or head back to Lincoln early? What has Z been doing with his summer? How did the interview go on the last job possibility?
I got my weeding done today. Russ will continue to put down more wood mulch tomorrow. He will need one more truck full after this next one and we will be done for 2-3 years hopefully. I also volunteered at Power Books today. I hadn't been there since May. I am volunteering to work a Parent Fair this weekend to pass out books to kids.
Weather turned hot today so AC is on.0 -
Caleb took off a bit after 8 a.m. Sunday. We got home about 2 a.m. So he was beyond anxious to get back. Zach hasn't gotten anything back from his two gatekeeper interviews (i.e. didn't apparently move on).
You know, I really don't know or understand why Caitlin didn't have a couple of others doing those two particular tasks I mentioned. I get not wanting too many 'cooks spoiling the pot' for all the plethora of so many odds and end and things you would rather trust to someone you really trust. But the guest book/card box and cake (at least in my non- knowing opinion) would have worked way better assigned to separate persons. And, yeah, absolutely, the venue could have done the cake (unless they refused since it was outside cake - but I don't see them making cake), but there were so many servers running around bussing, doing drinks etc. Meh, whatever.
The heat is up this week too. I know it's July, but yuck. Not my thing.
Can't believe it's mid-July.
Back to the grind.0 -
Cool today, high of 71. We turned off the AC and have windows open. It rained quite a bit over night so that is good. I need to go check the garden. I'm learning about tomatoes and have been pruning plants I shouldn't. May be cause of low tomato yield last summer. Garden and learn...
A young friend got married about 7-8 years ago in Mpls. She had her reception at a hotel venue. They charged for each piece of cake cut and charged more if the cake was not baked by them. What a scam in my opinion. It was like $2.45 per piece if they didn't provide the cake!
C must be loving his independence living in an apartment. My boys were the same and didn't linger for long when they visited us. I was also the same way when I lived on my own in college. It's part of the breaking away to be independent and not answer to parents. Rory and Hannah are busy planning their paint colors for their new town home they are buying. Hannah texts me a lot (thank you for girl friends and daughter-in-laws) but Rory takes awhile to respond to a text and rarely calls. He will schedule his calls or we schedule ours around their work schedule and social events. They are busy! Jeff never calls me but texts occasionally. I am going to call them an evening this week. David is out fishing but I will see if I can reach him. He hasn't called more than once since May.
Z will find something sooner or later. Is he working an interim job or relaxing?
Wallpaper removal is happening now. It is going to be so nice to have it gone in that area of the house. I'm excited to plan and pick out counter tops, back splash and cabinet paint color.
Well I hope you don't drag from exhaustion too much this week. Hang in there!0 -
The wallpaper is gone!!!!! Even without fresh paint, the rooms look so different. A blank slate! No wall damage on the sheet rock. It came off easily but there was lots of wallpaper paste so floor needs washing tomorrow. I vacuumed but need to mop well. Next I will buy the primer they recommend to block any glue residue that may still be present but not seen. In the next months I will pick out counter top, tile back splash, cabinet color, hardware, and wall paint color. The big question: stay neutral or have some fun with a little color.0
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That's fantastic that the wallpaper removal went so well!
I am more than a bit freaked out today to learn that the last Behlen president from Phil's time (and the president of my business unit) is job hunting. I was freaked when Heather M. quit (the other last Phil time prez), but Jen M was my last hope for keeping this bus on the road/ship afloat. No, no, no. I need more time before it goes belly up. I am so scared to do any real job hunting with all the uncertainty with my other two. A bad job is at least a job when you walk blindly in somewhere else and it could definitely be worse. AAaaarrrrrgggggh. Sigh. I have to try to figure out how to put my fear aside.
This is your powder room right? Go for some color!0 -
And, oh my - 2.45 to cut a cake up? What a racket. If it was something like for my niece, no wonder she had us do it. We had 250 pieces of cake to serve. Bonkers.0
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I don't know if all venues charge for cutting a cake but my friend's did. Totally crazy. Weddings have become big business and couples pay a lot for their special day if they go to event center/venue. 250 guests? Wow! Was it buffet or sit down dinner with servers? Wow!!!!
I cleaned up the glue from the kitchen, mudroom and laundry floors, wiped down trim and cabinets so the wall paper glue and adhesive remover is gone, I hope.
My garden is doing well. My Early Girl and Big Beef tomatoes have small tomatoes on them. Sugar snap peas grow several inches per week. Hope to see some pea pods soon. Peppers also have little peppers growing now. Herbs are doing great. So far so good! I hope my cherry tomato plants get a lot of tomatoes. I love those!
I went on a bike ride today, about 15.38 miles.The trail was crowded and many people don't practice trail etiquette. My pet peeve. I don't know why they feel they need to spread across the trail and are totally unaware of who is coming up behind them. Stay to the right!
Russ spread more wood mulch today. It is looking very nice around here. One more truck full and he will be done.
Tomorrow, my sister Lynn and I are going to Traverse City to buy a nice, glass Hummingbird Feeder for my brother who is building a house in Bellinham, WA. We bought him a book about Hummingbirds and will give him the feeder, the food recipe and the book as a house warming gift. The house should be done soon but we aren't sure when he is moving in. The feeder will be more useful in the spring/summer of 2024.
Can you quietly put out feelers for jobs without anyone knowing? It sounds like your company is changing. Is your sister still there? What does she think?0 -
My niece and her new husband Christian had their reception, dinner and dance at Tiburon Golf Course. It is where Christian works. He's the assistant gm or assistant something or another, working towards being a gm/golf pro someday. He worked there all through high school and college and Tiburon gave them a nice discount. I don't know how much is was, but whatever it was allowed them to be able to afford that venue - otherwise they definitely wouldn't have had the funds. They did a cocktail hour with appetizers and buffet dinner, cake and then dancing. Compared to what my sister and I had for wedding receptions (cake and cold cuts in a church basement) obviously this was infinitely 'fancier' - my dad's favorite way to indicate something is frivolous and stupid. But, overall, pretty on par with any of the wedding I have been to (aside from my own). The venue was nicer - because golf course.0
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Sounds nice and if you can get a venue for a discount, why not? I would have done the same thing. Maybe they just didn't provide the support people without a huge so your niece asked family to help. Either way, it is over and may they live happily ever after.
My oldest sister, Lynn, and I went to Traverse City today to look at Hummingbird Feeders. We went to Wild Bird's Unlimited (cool store) and then to Blain Fleet which is like a farm store (huge). My other sister, Becky, didn't know we were shopping for the feeder in a store. Lynn asked her if she wanted to contribute and she said yes, but then put all sorts of controls on what we purchased. She thought we were shopping online and gave Lynn names of more expensive places with the stipulation she didn't want ugly, tacky flowers on the feeder. Funny! All Hummingbird feeders have red or yellow plastic/rubber flowers attached to attract the birds and that is what they put their beaks in to eat the mixture. We bought a glass feeder and I bought one for myself to replace the one I don't like. I had chicken wings with a dark rum sauce and a Korean BBQ sauce on the side with fried zucchini. They had sweet cherry milkshakes so I indulged in that too. No dinner needed for me.
Tomorrow is water yoga and I am going no matter what!0 -
Sounds like a really nice gift for your brother and a good day with your sister. Yay!
Friyay eve0 -
Well we are getting LOTS of birds at our feeders. The big crows have discovered them. There seem to be birds on our deck railing, chimney, feeders and grass. It is starting to feel like The Birds Alfred Hitchcock movie. There were birds pecking at our chimney top (metal vents) and it sounded like a loud drill in metal. Creeping me out!
I have ordered peel and stick paint colors for cabinets so we can see what we like with the bright, natural light in our kitchen. The back wall of the house in dining room, kitchen and breakfast area is all windows and the morning sun until just after noon keeps it very bright. I don's want to have to wear sunglasses in the kitchen and don't want to put shades on the windows and have to lower them so I'm unsure about white/cream cabinets that may make it too bright. Although I could paint walls a deep color to tone it down. We like the idea of a pretty color of cabinets to reflect lake colors since we live by the Great Lakes. I hesitate to paint non neutral due to getting sick of color or it becoming dated. However, this is our last house we will own and if all goes well we will stay here until death. The next owners will probably upgrade the kitchen more than we have so should do what we want.
TGIF for you! I hope you can relax this weekend.
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I picked up my new glasses yesterday. The right side is amazing. Yay. The left side is blurry. Boo. I know they are going to say, give a few days. Give it time. Boo. If your eye knows one is good right away, giving it time just means that you learn to compensate. Not that it gets better. Meh. I'll give it a few days - I'm pretty sure the left side is not going to work long term for me. This is the first set of glasses I've gotten at this provider (since we had to move to another place since the other one retired). Our 'old' place has remade glasses for me that did work right. I have a feeling this place won't (they just don't have that vibe). We'll see. The other big BOO is that where they are located is in the middle of the HORRIBLE construction and getting there is anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes of mostly sitting in stopped traffic. So a 'quick' stop is impossible. More BOOOO.
Do you have an island in your kitchen. Maybe you could do your color there? I like the ones that I have seen that have that pop of color on the island.
Yesterday was a weird day for me at work. It started out with me just feeling great and being in kind of a great mood. It was awesome. I don't remember if I had talked about it, but a couple of weeks ago our team and few others moved into the first part of the office the has been 'renovated'. It's fine. I don't really care how much 'nicer' it is. It's just a waste of money when they are picking apart money on other things - like closing plants. But, anyway one of the things is some sort of noise cancelling system they put in. It's basically a fan/white noise machine that is to fill up the area. When they turned it on we laughed because its just more noise and it doesn't cancel out people talking. But it was fine. Then yesterday I guess the company it came from came and the powers that be decided it just needed to turned up. I can tell you the exact minute they did because the pressure in my head and ears increased to the point of pain. I could the increase in volume of the noise machine and within twenty minutes I had a migraine. My ears were ringing, I was nauseous, and feeling so horrible. I emailed Michele if the level could be taken back down since it had immediately given me a migraine. I kept working, but was basically in tears thinking there is no way I could work like that day after day. She got back to me a while later after checking with the team that had instigated it and she told me that they believed people will get used to it. I told her I was too sick to work and would have to go home and if it can't be turned down I would like to be moved back to one of the non remodeled areas. She said I could try asking Jon (the team in charge of remodel). I forwarded him my email and copied Michele asking to be turned down, stating all my ill symptoms and that I would be leaving work. He stated how they appreciated the feedback (you mean the feedback that I had already shared with my team leader) and would try turning it down. I could tell the minute they turned it down. The pressure eased. But I was so upset I still left a bit early. Why when Michele asked they claimed I should just wait. But then it could be turned down after all when I kept my pressure up and stating I was too ill to work. It should honestly be an OSHA recordable since it made me so sick I couldn't work. They won't of course. But it should. There was no checking in with people about a massive change to the environment. Awful. And it still would have just had people talking louder to talk over to the stupid noise. I am dreading going back Monday. What if it gets turned back up.0 -
What next at your work? Wow! I hope you don't have to work under those conditions going forward. If so, you could contact OSHA and file a complaint. Not sure the job repercussions from that though.
We have a galley kitchen with no island. I could do lower cabinets one color and upper in cream but I'm not a huge fan of that. I'm waiting for some more paint sample stick ons and then I will know what I want to do.
Today I volunteered for Power Books at the Parenting Fair in a town nearby. We gave free books, puppets, crayons and notebooks to each child that came to our table. Afterwards, I went to my sister's pool to swim and do some water jogging and stretches. A hot, sunny day here today.
I feel like my flowers in my pots are struggling. They drink a lot of water but are always dry. Same with the garden.
Tomorrow I need to begin to clean the bunk room, wash sheets and make beds for next weekend's guests.0
