Hello All,

We had so much fun on the 31st. All our family and kids. My cousin and her husband and my aunt and her husband were here. Lots of food. Lots of noise and lots of fun. But I did enjoy January 1 when my out of town guests left and I finally had no long list of things to do. I read my new book I got at Christmas and I am now on book#2.

I've been suffering awfully from nasty acid reflux. Despite new prescriptions nothing is working very well. Oh well, now that I only have to cook for Ed and I, I can control my diet better.

Poor Ed has a cold and isn't feeling well.

Good night all,
'Jeri

Anne- Great New Year resolution, eating well and staying healthy. Keep warm we are getting snow today but it won't be much.

I did some yoga on Tuesday night and no worse for wear on the knee. It does hurt some while doing some of the postures, still wearing my tensor band while doing it, but not feeling it as much when I do aqua fit. Day by day.
I had my chiropractor apt. and the massaging doesn't hurt as much as it did weeks ago so
it is improving some. Actually the last two days it has been alot better but still taking it as easy as I can.

My flannel sheets arrived this week for our beds, I ordered two for our bed and one for the bed downstairs which is used more than the upstairs bedroom. I am washing them all right now.
I also ordered a bathsuit for my aqua fit classes but sadly it didn't fit so I will be taking it back to Sears.
I am going shopping tomorrow at the outlet mall and see if I can find one, I can take it with me to
Jamaica in February.

Well I got on the scale today after Christmas noshing and gained 3.2 lbs. so I am officially the weight again when I started here in 2010. I know diets don't work but I do have to do something because my
pants are becoming tight. I will be cutting back on my eating and making better choices, enough said.

Jeri - I get acid reflux at times, and its usually how I am eating. I hope you feel better soon.

Lin - Did you just join the bookclub? Sounds like fun.

Sandy - No...the pictures are not professionally done, I bought it at a vendor in Central Park when we were there and having it framed with glass for Kathy for her birthday. I said an intention last night at yoga for you and Lisa.

Jackie - Good luck with Scruff, you are good dog sitter and I am sure your friend appreciates it.

Shirley

It was dog gone cold today! The winds just did not stop but finally should slow down tonight. Wind chills tomorrow should not be as low and we are not in the wind chill advisory area which is good but does not make me feel that much warmer. Ha.

Tai Chi was good this morning and hanging out with coloring buddies was even better. Ran my couple of errands and returned home. I filed a credit card charge dispute today as I could not get a response from the vendor. I advised them that I had done that since I hadn't heard from them. THEN I got an email just a little while ago explaining that it wasn't their fault the product was damaged but said okay, let the dispute process go ahead and get a refund. Okay, interesting time don't you think?

That was my first book club discussion last evening. I had attended the month prior for their social get together. I got the book for next month so I guess I'm in!

The library has had a scrapbooking Saturday each month for a long time. This year it is changed to paper crafts and I was told if I want to work on cards, that is fine, come over. So I am thinking about it but so far I cannot think of what I could pack up! I use so much stuff when I work on something and I am zipping up and down stairs for other materials. I would like to just line up some little items and sit and color with them. It is interesting to see what other people are doing. So I will think about it. I am also signed up for a card making class at a church nearby one evening next week. And I sent an email this afternoon to yet another library that is having a card making class early in February and asked if they had a vacant spot.

If the weather is bad or the flu gets worse around here, I can always cancel.

Jeri, oh my gosh, what a wonderful group of people assembled for New Year's Eve! Wonderful. I am sorry you are suffering from acid reflux. That is so painful. And I hope DH is on the mend for the nasty cold.

Jackie, you are such a wonderful friend. Scruff for FIVE days. Wow. That is quite a while with such an energetic doggie. Praying for good weather as we do not want you to go batty! And do not want George to be jealous.

Sandy, wow, doing errands today was a thrill wasn't it? I had many layers of clothes and two hoods over my head over my ear muffs! Brrrrrr.

Anne, my mail has not been delivered yet. I might as well wait until about 7pm before venturing out. I am so glad your package arrived. Did you see the mail delivery person driving about your area so you knew it was okay to try to find your mail? That is what I try to do but after dark, that doesn't work well. Enjoy those vegetables!

Shirley, I am glad you are able to do a bit without making your knee worse. Wonderful. You still have quite a wait for that MRI don't you? Do take care though.

Patsy, thinking of you deep in your dungeon. I hope the slippers arrive quickly. Dear Katie, please do not eat any more of mom's good stuff. Thank you.

Take care. I plan to spend the morning with the gals playing cards and doing crafts, and chattering of course.

Hugs.

Lin

BRRrrrrr! Just reading those posts has me shivering! Wish I could say c'mon down, but if anyone does get here to warmer weather, let me know! My kids leave tomorrow and I hope they don't think of me as an old fuddy-dud, but my DIL loves shopping and running about at a fast clip, while my DS stays in their guest suite reading or planning for their move to Germany, so I have days to myself, which is fine. Tonight they took me to a very popular pretty restaurant on the Ft Lauderdale Beach where I enjoyed a steamed lobster dinner overlooking the water.
The endless paperwork I have been dealing with is almost at an end, and things are returning to a more normal course. I am actually trying to decide whether or not to renew my passport, which has expired. Right now, I can't see me traveling, but if I lose weight and become more comfortable,...who knows?
PATSY, so sorry your holiday season was marred by health problems. 65% better is not quite what we'd like to hear, so wishing you a quicker recovery!
JACKIE, what a friend you are...a true treasure!
SHIRLEY, Knowing how disciplined you usually are, I expect you will be back to normal good health fairly soon!
JERI, your own cooking will be very helpful! Feel better, dear! Ed, too!
ANNE, I think Inuits don't mind the cold! I'm with you!
LIN, I get dizzy just thinking about all your accomplishments! And you master each new one!
I hope MARIE, MARCELLA, PHOEBE, BARBIE, MADDY and all our other friends, frequent or infrequent, stay well in this new year.
Buzz

My morning is nearly over and after our usual walk on the moors where a cold wind kept the temperature down and a visit from the Pedicurist to tidy toe nails and give me a wonderful foot massage I'm now contemplating homemade soup and crackers. This afternoon I'm going to visit a local store, well about 6 miles away, to see if I can come up with ideas for a friend's birthday present required for Saturday. She's one of those people who seems to have everything so I'm hoping something jumps out at me although usually when I visit this store I end up buying more for myself!

Patsy ~ Sorry to learn you weren't feeling wonderful during the festivities but reading of Katie's antics I think I'd be feeling exhausted! Seriously though, I think these pooches keep us young and just so long as we can sort of keep up with them it can be an ideal arrangement. George's hour long morning walk does us both the power of good and I know if he wasn't with me I'd spend these cold mornings doing very little.

Buzz ~ My passport runs out quite soon too and with air travel being such a hassle these days I'm put off going far. Our airports are chocker and a nightmare to even get to by car and that's before I get near a plane! Perhaps I'll wait for us to come out of the EU so that I can get my British passport back rather than being vaguely European then see where flights from small local airports will take me.

Anne ~ Lots of bugs doing the rounds here too so I'm doing my best to be unsociable in order to avoid the worst of them! Keep warm.

Sandy ~ It's nice to have plans for the coming year and having just transferred information from old calendar to new and seen just how much I got up to with theatre visits and rock concerts last year I'm feeling enthusiastic about checking what's up and coming. George does seem to enjoy having Scruff here because I think he imagines we are all one big doggy pack and yesterday when I opened the back door of my car to take something out after our walk Scruff was ready to jump in and come home with me so must feel the same. It's just my energy levels that need to rise for the visits!

Shirley ~ Sounds like you're getting somewhere with your knee which is good news but sorry you feel you've come full circle with your weight. It's not easy to adopt a healthy lifestyle rather than diets which you're right, don't work and the only way I've managed is to be very selective about what foods are in the home. Here's to 2017 being your year to crack it!

Lin ~ I think you'd have a great time with the paper craft group and perhaps could get yourself organised with a bag of necessities to take with you that doesn't get emptied out at home. I had to do that with my swimming gear, shampoos etc so I wasn't finding I'd left something at home.

Marcella ~ Twelfth night tomorrow so it's safe to keep that tree up until then!!

My creamed and massaged feet are now feeling cold so I must dig out a pair of socks, have lunch and get myself out shopping.
Thursday already - enjoy!!
Jackie

Just lost my post so I will try again.

Jackie, that pedicure sounds lovely, I will have to make an apt. before our trip to Jamaica in February.

Buzz- Our temperature today was 15F very cold and a wind on top of that. I have been seeing TV
advertisements for Sarasota, Fl. lately I have never seen that before. A lot of Canadians are not traveling to Florida due to our dollar being so low right now. Maybe that will change but I did hear it might go lower. We think twice about going across the river to buy anything. Enjoy your company on their last day with you.

Sandy - Your grand-daughter should be lucky all you do for her, she should not have an attitude. Good for speaking up.

Marie - Good luck at the doctors.

I just got back from returning my bathing suit and checked to see if my leather jacket zipper was completed at the cleaners, she said probably Monday. Another gray day today and snow is on the way they say so my car is in the garage.

Shirley

Good for you, SANDY, finally sticking up for yourself! You have done so much for your family and I recall how much you devoted to your lovely Bryanna, and somehow, attitudes creep in even though she loves you, too. I hope you have learned to not allow anyone to walk all over you, of all people. You give so much of yourself to others!
Off to dinner (at 4:45!!!)
Buzz

Jackie - Thanks for the info. The tree will be my goal for tomorrow! … or maybe Saturday while it’s suppose to be snowing here in the Atlanta area. I may have to take my chances with the 12th day thing.

Just wanted to stop in and say hello and good night. It's been a long day and while everything has gone well today, at this moment, I'm feeling very tired and sleepy. It would seem that the emotion of Emily's funeral (my friends' teenage daughter that passed) may have been a bit more than I realized. So, the dishes are done, the clothes folded and I think I may just go to bed early tonight.
Marcella

Morning,

Off to aqua fit this morning, it is so cold out but sunny. The thought of going into a pool makes me shiver but I guess I better get used to it because it is good for my knee. Last night I went to yoga and did some restorative. I had to clean off my car from the snow before going home, I am becoming a wimp lately with this winter. I guess another season of not skiing this year due to my knee. I guess enough complaining there are people out there must worse off than me.

Tonight we are trying a new jerk chicken restaurant and seeing the new Star Wars movie.

Enjoy the day!

Shirley

Gonna get My IP out to cook me some beans these can ones just way to much sodium I am cooking Chicks peas Lin how do like your oil less fryer?
Marie

Welcome back Linda! We all need to take some holiday pounds off, some more than others and myself included and the need to take alot off! LOL

I had aqua fit this morning and there are always two ladies who love to chat more than work out.
I am still enjoying the workout and really need it. I am also getting better doing some of the exercises
without bumping into too many people. There are evening classes to Tuesdays and Thursday so if I can't make the morning I can do an evening class.

Sandy - May all go well on Sunday for Lisa! My MRI is February 14th, Valentines day, that's where I will be spending time with my sweetheart because he will be driving me there. I didn't know you could get night glasses for driving.

Marcella - I heard North Carolina is getting lots of snow this week, I didn't know Atlanta got snow too.
Stay safe if on the roads.

Anne- Counting the days to our trip to Jamaica in February. We will be ready for the warm sun and the loungers and drinks.

Jackie - I remember staying overnight at my daughter's and I heard something scurrying over my head in the ceiling and it literally woke me up. It was mice!

Shirley

But will be back maybe.
Marie