Lagopus Member

Responding to Allie, Machka wrote: It's no way similar there. Parental leave in the US is up to the employer. Many give 0 pay for maternal leave and women have to take sick leave or unpaid leave to give birth. Read this and weep: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/11/global-paid-parental-leave-us/ /Penny

I'm thinking of all of you who are struggling with health/work/family issues, and holding in my heart those who have had losses and sad anniversaries. I've had a few issues of my own but right now I'm delighted to be back where I belong, if only temporarily. Husband was to give a lecture in Longyearbyen and I went along…

Kim - I'd say that was no way to take an accurate blood pressure reading. You should be rested, calm, seated comfortably, arm relaxed and comfortable. Your BP varies all the time. It will usually be lower in the morning and higher in the afternoon. Higher after exercise. Lower if you've just peed. Higher after a cup of…

Machka - I love the frilly flowers you've got Down Under. Lucky for me, I don't suffer from allergies. /Penny, still plugging away on that big commission, not far from the

Busiest time of year for me so I haven't commented much. This too will pass... leaving a hefty chunk of paycheck on my account, so I'm okay with it. My sister and I have been connecting with our dad on Zoom once a week since August. That was when my mom fell out of bed twice and was moved from independent living, leaving…

Heather - Was that image something you made with the new app you mentioned the other day? Exhibitionist foxes. Who'd have guessed? We haven't had pigeons or robins or jays or sparrows, but we did see three magpies on a nearby rooftop and - best of all - we spotted TWO golden eagles sitting on the point below our apartment.…

Terri wrote: Nope, no view. The town of Tromsø (=Troms Island) lives on the island. We and the cathedral both live on the mainland side of the bridge. But we used to live just a few hundred meters from it and I pass it every time I go to town. I considered joining the choir there, but they had so much Sunday service duty…

Machka - Thanks for the "pome". A. A. Milne had a way with simple words for simple pleasures. Heather - We're on the mainland side of the bridge. Northbound cruise ships pass by our balcony a few minutes before they dock. We love our view. It's so lively! Margaret - Gorgeous fuchsias! /Penny not at the

Michele wrote: This reminds me of a new choir friend. When we met, I asked her what she did and she said she was a veterinarian. I followed up by asking if she focused on large animals or small ones. She said she started out on large ones but now works with small ones. Turns out she's a research vet and her current focus…

Carla from Lakeville, MN wrote Yeah, dementia is a beast. I remember that from back when my mom was still able to communicate. She firmly expected her father to come pick her up and take her home, and grew increasingly agitated when he didn't show up. It felt bad to lie to her, but we didn't have the heart to tell her he…

Thanks for all your words of condolence. :heart: Mary - When we built our house on the island we put in a 3/4 width dishwasher. I'm really pleased with it. It's big enough to swallow the dishes from a three-course meal for 8, but small enough that if I'm out there all alone, it fills quickly enough that I can run it every…

Hi everyone Heather dropped me an email again - bless her heart - and encouraged me to post here. :heart: I've had a rough few months. In late December I lost my mother. Shortly after that, Covid finally started infecting people close to me. I've put it all in spoilers so nobody has to read it unless they want to. Mom…

Machka - this is for you: https://www.arctic-race-of-norway.com/en/overall-route The race started today and continues through Sunday. Here's a promotional video sequence that starts and ends with golf for some reason. https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x7gs2f5?autoplay=1 Warning: that video is NOT for people who are…

Ha ha! I went out jogging this afternoon and just as I set off, I met a car with German licence plates and a big white globe on top with an array of a dozen or so cameras. On the side of the car it said "Apple maps image collection vehicle." We live at the turnaround, so the car turned around and followed me for a good…

Well I'm going to travel! Norway and Sweden have opened up to the degree that my husband and I are taking a quick trip to Stockholm where we will be picked up by our daughter and her fiancé, then haul ourselves out into the archipelago where our son and his family are sailing. We'll spend a couple days with them (the boat…

Michele - Only you can say what is a good time for you. We're all different. My daughter would be dissatisfied if she did 1.5 miles in 15 minutes. Some women on this thread would be happy if they could walk at all for 15 minutes. How about if you keep track of your times and judge them against your own previous times?…

Heather, is that you? I hardly recognize you wearing sleeveless! :lol: Delighted to find your note in the mailbox when we went in to town the other day. :heart: /Penny, on my phone, waiting for the eggplant Parmigiano to come out of the oven

Hi all! Sorry I'm not commenting on your lives and struggles. Please know that I'm thinking of you, keeping my fingers crossed for the best possible outcome with health/family/work issues. Here are some pictures for distraction. :wink: After a couple days of rain, it's sunny again. I've got laundry going and will hang it…

I have an idea you might try. Switch to this mindset: "I might as well get started right away because there will always be vacations and cookouts and anniversaries and nights out with friends and retirement parties and church potlucks. If I do the best I can whenever I can, and realize that giving in to the occasional…

Barbara — calling it a recipe is like calling the rhyme on a birthday card an epic poem, but here goes: Mince one small jalapeño and a clove of garlic Mix with juice of ½ lemon, a half tablespoon of soy sauce, and a tablespoon of olive oil I use chicken breast sliced almost in half and butterflied to expose more of the…

It's been glorious weather at our island place and we've accomplished some of the things we had to do. We hilled the potatoes, cut the high grass, set up the protective fiber cloth tents over the vegetable beds — and I finally got out jogging again. What with the move, I only ran once all last week. It was hot (for me) at…

Hi B3tybo72, you young thing, and welcome! Stick with us and you'll get lots of new angles on weight loss, but also on life and health in general. You'll find plenty of help and encouragement (but no religion or politics, please). Many of us don't do the friends thing, but that doesn't mean we aren't friendly! Hit the…

Flea thinking of you! /Penny

Way to go Heather!

I forgot to mention a major NSV I had yesterday. While running around packing and getting the luggage checked in, I noticed my pants gliding down my hips. It got to the point where I could slip them off with just a tiny tug. 😎 /Penny, who was then still at the [/quote]

Well we made it to Tromsø. My worst moment was when we'd just come to the departure hall and I met a good friend from choir who was flying south for a family wedding. She's easily moved so we set each other off. Many tears were shed, but fortunately they were the silent kind. The flight was uneventful. Thick clouds…

Last day in Longyearbyen. June ended with a fire alarm in our building just before midnight, when we'd both fallen asleep. We threw on some clothes and dashed out onto our outside stairs, bleary-eyed and unhappy. It was yet another false alarm. Someone in the end apartment was burning a pizza. This morning we woke to new…

Busy day. Last frantic day of packing. Husband no help because of a leadership group meeting with 14 items on the agenda (vs normal 4). Yesterday his director blithely dumped a dignitary from the Ministry of Climate and Environment in his lap and told him to entertain her all afternoon. GRRRRRR!!!! As you can tell from my…

Last night we joined the traditional pizza party that celebrates the end of a research cruise up here. The people who were out doing fieldwork with my husband included two 15-year-old girls, who won a competition for "research talents". As part of their prize, they've been up here four times now! They were among the people…

Teary-eyed for the first time about our impending move. And I'd almost begun to believe I'd make it through without breaking down. :cry: /Penny, so sad at the