2021: Think Positively for a Better Year!
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I’m back from my trip and I managed not to feed my SIL to the gators, but there were a few times when I was tempted. I had poor or no WiFi connections in our last 2 accommodations, so I haven’t been able to read or post much. We both concluded that we didn’t care much for South Florida. With only 1 or 2 exceptions, we found the people to be mostly unfriendly and unhelpful. The drive on the Overseas Highway was nothing like we expected, as most of the time you didn’t even see water. Key Largo was really not very interesting or enjoyable either. We did have fun on our snorkeling charter in Key West, and I think there were a lot more things we could have done there, but I couldn’t get SIL to do any of them in the limited time we had there. She was unimpressed with Key West, but I really don’t think she gave it a fair shot.
DH and I have done several cruises and really enjoyed most of them. There are so many activities offered that you can be as active or inactive as you choose to be. I don’t think I’d want to do one anytime soon until COVID is under better control worldwide, but I do think it will be possible to do it safely at some point. As it stands now, I believe they are requiring that 95% of the passengers and crew be vaccinated, so that’s likely safer than the general population where I live. However, the ports the ship calls into may be more of a risk and that’s why I’d want to wait awhile.
Today I’m catching up on things I missed while on my trip and tonight we are going to a Celebration of life open house for my friend who passed away a year ago in early March from cancer.0 -
I’m back from my trip and I managed not to feed my SIL to the gators, but there were a few times when I was tempted. I had poor or no WiFi connections in our last 2 accommodations, so I haven’t been able to read or post much. We both concluded that we didn’t care much for South Florida. With only 1 or 2 exceptions, we found the people to be mostly unfriendly and unhelpful. The drive on the Overseas Highway was nothing like we expected, as most of the time you didn’t even see water. Key Largo was really not very interesting or enjoyable either. We did have fun on our snorkeling charter in Key West, and I think there were a lot more things we could have done there, but I couldn’t get SIL to do any of them in the limited time we had there. She was unimpressed with Key West, but I really don’t think she gave it a fair shot.
DH and I have done several cruises and really enjoyed most of them. There are so many activities offered that you can be as active or inactive as you choose to be. I don’t think I’d want to do one anytime soon until COVID is under better control worldwide, but I do think it will be possible to do it safely at some point. As it stands now, I believe they are requiring that 95% of the passengers and crew be vaccinated, so that’s likely safer than the general population where I live. However, the ports the ship calls into may be more of a risk and that’s why I’d want to wait awhile.
Today I’m catching up on things I missed while on my trip and tonight we are going to a Celebration of life open house for my friend who passed away a year ago in early March from cancer.
Whenever anyone around here talks about moving to Florida, I confess I always think "I've SEEN Florida, thankyouverymuch". LOL! My best friend divorced in the last few years and a side benefit is she doesn't have to move to Florida (her ex was determined).0 -
DH is in charge of the computer hardware around here. My computer crashed and he discovered his "clone" was damaged. I'm tearing my hair out with everything I'm having to redo and reinvent. The biggest issue is the CROM mailing list. We are eventually, with a lot of time/effort, probably going to be able to restore 100% of the names/addresses and 75% or so of the other information. Methinks that I can't let backups solely in his purview any more.0
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DH is in charge of the computer hardware around here. My computer crashed and he discovered his "clone" was damaged. I'm tearing my hair out with everything I'm having to redo and reinvent. The biggest issue is the CROM mailing list. We are eventually, with a lot of time/effort, probably going to be able to restore 100% of the names/addresses and 75% or so of the other information. Methinks that I can't let backups solely in his purview any more.
I am certainly no computer expert, but I know in our case, DH uses an external hard drive to back up all of our important documents and financial information. I think he also uses thumb drives to copy some things that he might need or want to be able to easily share to another computer.
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That gray cat is adorable. I miss having a cat but our seasonal multi day travels are not conducive to having a cat. If we ever settle in one place, cats welcome to move in.0
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DH is in charge of the computer hardware around here. My computer crashed and he discovered his "clone" was damaged. I'm tearing my hair out with everything I'm having to redo and reinvent. The biggest issue is the CROM mailing list. We are eventually, with a lot of time/effort, probably going to be able to restore 100% of the names/addresses and 75% or so of the other information. Methinks that I can't let backups solely in his purview any more.
I am certainly no computer expert, but I know in our case, DH uses an external hard drive to back up all of our important documents and financial information. I think he also uses thumb drives to copy some things that he might need or want to be able to easily share to another computer.
We've talked about what went wrong and started laying out plans for more backups. I'll just have to suck it up and invest the time re-creating as much of the database as I can.0 -
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I topped off my gas tank tonight. Supplies are tight because of the cyber attack. We have 3 stations on the island and I was confident I’d find gas without a long line. There’s a $6 toll to come on island so people would be adding that into the cost of gas. They’d get it cheaper in town if they can find a station with gas. My sister in SC said many stations there had run out or lines were pretty long. Sounds like a repeat of panic toilet paper shopping last year. My oldest sister is battling cancer so my SC sister is flying down for a visit. We’ll pick her up at the airport and the three of us will drive to Okeechobee to visit Patty for the weekend. It’s about 200 miles round trip and I have enough gas for 340 miles.0
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I topped off my gas tank tonight. Supplies are tight because of the cyber attack. We have 3 stations on the island and I was confident I’d find gas without a long line. There’s a $6 toll to come on island so people would be adding that into the cost of gas. They’d get it cheaper in town if they can find a station with gas. My sister in SC said many stations there had run out or lines were pretty long. Sounds like a repeat of panic toilet paper shopping last year. My oldest sister is battling cancer so my SC sister is flying down for a visit. We’ll pick her up at the airport and the three of us will drive to Okeechobee to visit Patty for the weekend. It’s about 200 miles round trip and I have enough gas for 340 miles.
Apparently there was already a supply problem - lack of drivers for tanker trucks. I'm surprised - I would have guessed that was a decent paying job.
No lines here. Yet. So last year I was worried about lockdowns and feeding the colonies. This year it's gas!0 -
Part of it might be they need special training and a commercial driver’s license. That probably has more to do with the shortage of drivers than what the companies are paying.0
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I'm trying to get organized. DH working on computer issues left "the office" in paper chaos. I seem to have a working computer at the moment with a new one on the way. A LOT of work to do to re-create the things that weren't backed up. My head is sort of spinning. Trying to stick to my diet although part of me just wants to eat everything in sight!0
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Maryanne, good luck with creating order from the chaos! I’m sure you will get everything whipped into shape soon.
I’ve been busy this week with catching up on things after my trip. I feel like I’ve finally got everything caught up now, just in time for a busy weekend. I’m meeting my grad school friends Saturday afternoon for a very late 60th birthday celebration for one of my friends. Her actual birthday was in January, but she wasn’t ready to celebrate until now. This is my friend who shared her birthdate with her husband, and he suddenly died 3 days after their birthday last year from a heart attack. So this year she wasn’t really feeling very celebratory on the actual date, but is ready to party now.
Saturday night we are going to a friend’s home for a dinner party with the group we used to do this with often. This will be our first in-home gathering since before COVID, but all of us are fully vaccinated, so we feel the risk is minimal. I think there will be 10 of us. I’m taking a fresh vegetable tray, so I know there will be at least 1 healthy item to eat, lol.
On Sunday I have to make a dessert for DH’s church group. I’m trying to decide between a strawberry pie or a strawberry Swiss cake roll. Strawberry anything sounds good to me right now, lol!0 -
Pam - sounds like you have a busy day today with a fun evening. Enjoy!
Helene - you're probably right about the truckers. It just struck me as odd.
I fed this morning and then went to pick up my two new pairs of glasses. "Curbside" of all things. I took one look at them and called inside. My glasses live in the car. I have one tinted pair (not sunglasses) and one clear pair. They looked identical. Employee took the one pair back to add "more' (her word) tint. It's always something isn't it?
Then I dropped by the grocery store and actually had someone stop me and compliment my hair. I just had it done for the second time yesterday. Still a lot of brown on the ends surprisingly but probably by the end of the year that will be gone.
I'm hoping/planning to stick to my diet today.0 -
Here's the satellite view of the tiny town where I grew up. Boy, ALL that farmland around it. Satellite view really brings it "home".
https://www.google.com/maps/place/52+N+High+St,+Biglerville,+PA+17307/@39.925264,-77.3019857,1773m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c9a9ef716039b9:0x4543660d8e5860c6!8m2!3d39.9237594!4d-77.30132190 -
It does look pretty rural. Was moving to MD to an urban area a hard adjustment? Has your dad’s house sold?0
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It does look pretty rural. Was moving to MD to an urban area a hard adjustment? Has your dad’s house sold?
I confess I don't remember it being hard. It wasn't like I'd lived in that tiny town recently although the place where we lived certainly wasn't a city. And I was thrilled to finally have a cat and not be teaching seventh graders.
Dad's house isn't even on the market yet. The attorney thought they'd be trying to sell it even while my brother was still living there but they didn't. Hopefully they'll move forward soon.
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It took about 8 months before we were ready to MIL’s house on the market after she died. We spent a couple months emptying it out and painting. She lived there 60 years so there was a lot of stuff to go through. I’d recommend getting a dumpster when you get to that point. A lot of stuff will probably be junk that no family member wants.0
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When we cleared out MIL’s house to get it ready to become a rental unit, we took out the valuables and things with sentimental value, then turned it over to an agent who held an estate sale to get rid of the rest. What didn’t sell was donated to a charity that came in and took everything that was left. We didn’t make a huge amount of money on the estate sale, but it was nice not having to deal with it all.0
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We aren't responsible for emptying dad's house. A bank is the executor. Apparently Dad and my brother had been decluttering for awhile. (Hopefully DH never finds out that they apparently pitched the angel his mom made and gifted to my mom. I know he'd be upset even though ours hasn't been out of the "rat hole" (storage room) in years.)
In spite of my instructions my brother apparently continued to pitch after dad's death. We've all taken out anything we were interested in. Some is sitting in a climate controlled storage unit in Gettysburg including the family photo albums and dishes my sister wants.
When I visited my brother and took my final look at the house I was a little shocked to see how empty it is. I hope we don't get in trouble with the executor. Since the four of us are the only beneficiaries of the estate and we all agreed on who took what (and we didn't take that much so I'm thinking the decluttering/pitching was pretty ruthless) there shouldn't be. There are still some large furniture pieces to be sold or junked. The attic is completely empty as are all the open shelves in the house (I didn't open cabinets).0 -
I know next to nothing about white southern evangelicals except their support for the cheeto (although maybe that's enough). This is a fascinating history:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/15/opinions/white-evangelicals-after-trump-butler-bass/index.html0 -
It baffles me that any Christian, evangelical or not, can support him. There is a pastor here of a mega church that I had enjoyed listening to on occasion but I have learned now that he is a tRump supporter. He even attended one of his superspreader events at the White House. I think it was the announcement of Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court Justice nominee. I can no longer stand to listen to the man and I have lost all respect for him as a religious leader.0
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Brought my sister to the airport yesterday. She flew down so we could visit our oldest sister who is battling cancer. It was a good visit. We plan to start the drive home next Tuesday. DH is looking forward to going home but not to the long drive. We’ll be able to visit family on the way home. Everyone is vaccinated. It’s been about 18 months since we’ve seen some of them.0
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Helene, I’m glad you had a good visit with your sisters. Good luck and safe travels on your trip home.
Not much going on here his week. We are having intermittent rain and it’s forecasted to go on all week. Today it is sunny and warm, but the weatherman says it won’t last.
Next week I am going shopping with a couple of friends. One is looking for a Mother of the Groom dress for her son’s September wedding and she wants second and third opinions. She visited a store yesterday and found some possible choices so we will go next week with her and give our opinions. She is very busty on top and tiny on the bottom half, so finding something flattering is challenging. The bride has chosen colors in several shades of green and pinks, so she is also struggling to decide on a color that complements those colors but won’t look like she’s a bridesmaid. She loves green and looks good in it, but since that’s one of the wedding colors it makes it hard to find a shade that won’t compete. We are up for the challenge, but I know she’s growing frustrated and anxious about it.0 -
Brought my sister to the airport yesterday. She flew down so we could visit our oldest sister who is battling cancer. It was a good visit. We plan to start the drive home next Tuesday. DH is looking forward to going home but not to the long drive. We’ll be able to visit family on the way home. Everyone is vaccinated. It’s been about 18 months since we’ve seen some of them.
That's great that you got to see your sister. I wouldn't be looking forward to the long drive either but at least you'll be able to do the long trip knowing you're vaccinated!0
