Oh boy JACKIE, you and me both! I moved into the second bedroom with the second best mattress because the main bedroom is above the furnace and water heater below in the basement and in the winter the rumblings and switching on and off, plus the heat not to mention the fridge noises in the kitchen next door keep me wide awake all night. After virtually crawling to and fro to the bathroom during the night with excruciating back pain I finally threw in the towel at 3:30am and armed with sheets and pillows moved back into the main bedroom! The Bean viewed all this with resignation and we finally settled in our beds where we fell into glorious sleep until 7:00am. I think I had been sleeping on the hard edge as well. Oh no! You didn't view my enlarged kitchen! The wood is solid though and we are loathe to buy today's attractive but more flimsy whatever!

My "garden" room would make a super cool third bedroom IF it didn't have the four stairs leading down to the back door. The stairs that Jilly can now run up and down. It does have an attractive glass door to these stairs, but otherwise any visiting stove repair man or plumber would pass ny bed. That would make the main bedroom a lovely warm dining room because it leads off the kitchen. Yes.....it is a weird house, and yet I'm very fond of the old thing.

I am getting to be more of a believer in astrology after this week of peculiar happenings for everybody not just me! It doesn't help having a friend in Cornwall, Ontario who in her working days was a professional reader of ones fate via the stars. Lovely lady apart from this alarming choice of career and she would wag a finger at old Libra here and say "watch out for accidents" and I rarely believed but she was rarely wrong. Auto suggestion I still think, lol.

Anne, painful crawl round the grocery store today.

And the day begins....yes we are living in interesting times. A foggy misty cool day. This is our trash collection day. Isn't it odd? I always feel good to get rid of my weekly icky stuff. We have to do our recycle stuff our selves. We have to go to the dump and there are special bins to put various types of things to recycle. It is an enormous effort but it has to be done regularly.

John is doing his "busy as a bee" thing. He is getting ready for fall and winter. I believe there are such differences in the DNA in people. John really must always be doing some huge thing. He can hardly sit quietly. I, on the other hand, am extremely good at being lazy. It takes me longer than it should to do what I need to do. The dungeon still remains a sort of large room sized junk and trash container.

One of my new things is painting smooth river rocks with some fun image that turns them into rock people. I place them in parks and along hiking trails. Other artists are doing the same thing. Around our little forests I hung little ribbons with notes of hope and good vibes. I am hoping the good vibes dissolve and spread out in the wind across the land. John saw my little calligraphy notes and giggled that he thought they were price tags at first. When he was laughing and talking to our son about them, our son said "I was the only kid in school with a mom that believed in fairies and Santa Clause." I think little wood carvings of forest people would be fun for next spring. Like they have in Norway...but these will need to be smaller and portable. They would not the Norse carvings. They will be Oregon forest folk. Just a fun thing for kids to find.
Patsy

SANDY, my doctor thinks its neuropathy rather than carpal tunnel, so no brace so far! I make more mistakes typing since this started. I'm sort of getting used to the burn! Sympathy for JACKIE and ANNE for their pain, love Anne's neat kitchen, and Love Patsy's stone people! I enjoyed all the little "folk" in Norway...so funny, but I can't recall the names of the gnomes! Anyway, gotta dress for dinner, so OXOXO to all!
Buzz
.........................Always believe something wonderful is about to happen..........................

Hello, I woke up feeling a whole lot better than yesterday, just a little twinge. I hope your back pain dissolves as the day wears on JACKIE.
I'm not quite sure what to make of little rock people! I sort of like my rocks and pebbles left as nature intended, beautiful. A lump of clay transformed, that's different. This is because I had late family members working at Hornsea potteries and in a different life did a bit of terra cotta modelling myself. My auntie had a life size Grecian head I created, it sat on the hall table and for years my uncle put his trilby hat on it when he arrived home. It ended up in someone's rockery once they had gone and now it's probably in the local rubbish dump to be dug up in future years by enthusiastic kids from Hull university, lol. Maybe your rock people will be studied as well PATSY. Did the Vikings reach Oregon sort of thing.

I've decided to ignore the politics of south of the border, all things eventually pass, and meanwhile maybe I will join PATSY in rock painting after all!
Anne.

BUZZ Could you tell me about them boots. Do insurance pay any of it? do you like them?

What a relief it was to see how well the "marches" worked out today in Boston! More like a lovefest as fewer than 100 hate mongers showed up while I just read over 40000 Bostonians marched in orderly manner from all over to the Boston Common (like London's Hyde Park!) to counter protest, but it was unnecessary! I was so proud of "my" city!
MARIE, my compression boots are used to help increase circulation from my toes to my thighs where they meet my hips. Sometimes Medicare covers them for patients with cancer, but it did not cover purchase for lymphedema I knew how much I needed boots so I did some research, found an almost new motor on eBay, ended up buying the zippered boots at an online vendor, and the liners I bought 4 where I get my compression stockings. I'm making so many mistakes, I must stop. If you decide to buy, I'll look up my details. And you'll have something I sorely miss, some one nearby to help put them on! Goodnight everyone.
Buzz
........................Always believe something wonderful is about to happen..........................

Good afternoon already here in the UK where Gert the tropical storm has arrived with no more than soaking drizzle so far, something we can all live with as we so often do! George and I walked alone because Scruff has gone off with her mum to another dog show.... quite the professional she's becoming. After close to an hour on the phone to a friend I'm cooking George's food and putting off dealing with what looks like a huge pile of washing up in the sink.... lunch first I think.

Lin ~ I've not seen Ireland's Wild Coast and in fact it's the one island in our United Kingdom I've yet to visit which is crazy because the people are wonderful and scenery stunning. Somewhere else to add to my bucket list!

Sandy ~ Just the thought of lifting and carrying small children gives my back a twinge so can appreciate your aches although I bet you get lots of hugs when you do!

Those of us from the generation of hippies know that peace and love will win in the end, we just have to cope with a bit of political turmoil, yet again, until we get there!

Definitely no gardening today in the wet so I'll have to find something indoors to keep me active because sitting for long periods is still a no-no!

Off to lunch....... Jackie

I've decided to ignore the politics of south of the border, all things eventually pass (ANNE)
Those of us from the generation of hippies know that peace and love will win in the end, we just have to cope with a bit of political turmoil, yet again, until we get there! (JACKIE)
My Comments; Only if we are lucky! Before the last run-in we had with people of hate and fascism, more than 6 million people died horribly in cremation camps and millions more civilians and military people were killed attempting to eliminate the nazis! I hope everyone remembers that every vote counts, and ignoring our citizens' duties to be concerned and interested helps bring about the mess that we now are dealing in with "the most important leader in the world"!
Unfortunately, he surrounded himself with admirers of Hitler, and I'm hoping it will change somewhat with a new crew.
Forgive me for inserting a saying by Martin Niemoller that we have all heard before, but is so pertinent now that it is actually rewritten in the NYTimes for the President:
.....First they came for(.....;)Then they came for the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I remained silent, for I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, but I was not a Catholic, so I did not speak out. Then they came for me, ...and there was no one left to speak out!....

I wish I could keep track of nutrition as I used to, but I have no idea what goes into the food here! I'm so careful about the things I control, but my weight (overweight, really), goes up and down the same 5 pounds without change! I keep thinking I have cut way back, but obviously it's not true. And the exercise I am able to do is not the calorie burning type! So tomorrow, I will raise my arms to slip on the special glasses for eclipse watching, and attend the party at the pool! At least I think it's tomorrow. All days here are Sundays, I think!
Buzz

........................Always believe something wonderful is about to happen..........................

Having trouble posting the picture. Don't know if you can see this or not.


Jeri