Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[Pea-n-Me]

So true about insomnia, easyas. My sleep has definitely been off. DH sat down with me after dinner tonight to help me figure some things out I needed to deal with, so that was helpful. I’d rather give ten people baths than to deal with finances, lol. Thankfully he is good with numbers.

Glad things went well returning the computer, Mona, and for your Dad for his medical appts.

Glad you figured things out with Medicare, Carol.

Frog, nice to see you. I love the quote. And I like what you said about grief, as well.

Sorry you missed the cruise, Auntie. I would definitely be grumpy, too. Scratches to Miss Dolly.

Thinking of dazed, and Kirby’s son. And all Quackers, always.

Wound up making the pot roast tonight. My mother used to make it all the time but I’ve only made it once or twice and that was a while ago. I wung it. And wound up using too much liquid, forgot to use red wine and thyme and rosemary (which I didn’t have on hand), and probably shouldn’t have added peas but it was tasty. Next time I will use less liquid and use the crock pot after browning. I did it on the stove top since I waited till almost 4pm to start it. I remembered at the last minute, too, that it needed gravy. Fortunately I had a jar of beef gravy on hand.

Good thing we like carrots, potatoes and peas.



It might be an early night for me.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I'm also so sorry about the cruise, AuntieMe3

you sleep better tonight, Easyas!

How is your back feeling, Lynn? I sure pray much better!

Pea I'm grateful you have that good memory of your mom. I do hope you enjoyed your dinner tonight. continuing for your son.

Dad and I are very thankful that he did get a full refund, including the 2-year protection plan, he bought from Best Buy. I will set up the new laptop in a little bit for him to try out. More on that tomorrow. It was a wonderful deal from Target.

Sleep well all of you and have sweet dreams!

 

[Kirby]

I ran across a little quote today that kind of "hit home" for me and I hope it will maybe touch a few others on here.

And then One Day
We Discover we are Healing.
We find we have room to hold both hurt and hope.
Debbie Augenhaler

Beautiful!

Lou Lou strode right into preschool telling everyone she met "Happy New Year!". She is a real character! I had a short chat with her teacher this morning. Was glad to hear from her this afternoon that Lou Lou was her normal self today.

Was planning to begin taking down Christmas items but Lil Joe and DH had a Nerf gun war which became quite lively. So, I may just wait until the weekend to do it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I guess I will get the first Good Morning in today, if Snowysmom doesn’t beat me!

Kirby, I‘m glad the kids were in good spirits when they came home.

Congrats on the new computer, Mona.

 

[Snowysmom]

Good morning. You beat me today pea-n-me. My prayers and talking with Chris took longer than usual. It is another gloomy day in the 40s. So tired of the rain.

Frog Good to see you posting. Thank you for the quote.

I go to the office today. My friend asked if I could go to lunch so I am. She knows I need some extra care lately and is kind enough to be there for me. We are trying a new place as our usual place is closed for vacation. Tomorrow I need to straighten up the condo a bit as the real estate agent is coming by Saturday morning. She said not to do too much as she is just looking around to give me tips on what to have out and to price out the condo. She did say there aren't alot of condos in the area I am looking so it is necessary to sell and have the cash on hand to buy quickly. Now my crazy mind wonders if I will find what I want there. I am in worry mode. I am also exhausted just thinking about moving again. I tell the kids that I should just stay where I am and suck it up but they tell me that would not be the right thing to do. If I am not comfortable in a place then I need to do something about it. Plus I know being near Kenny will help his stress level as he knows someone will be there to help him when needed. Jeff and family will be fine in this area and I will only be 50 minutes away. I just hate moving and have to set up internet, cable, and everything else again. So daunting.

Have a good day.

 

[footballmouse]

Good Thursday morning!

Not too much to report from my little part of the world. Caught up on some recorded shows when I got home from work. Then watched the night special of Price is Right. Stayed up too late watching Tough as Nails premiere and this morning I hit the snooze alarm, something that I never do.

Had a leftover pork chop for dinner. Finally used my air fryer that my friend gave me. I made 2 pork chops the other night and they turned out really good. I was actually excited for dinner last night. I was planning to take the other one to my aunt but I never made it up there.

Was planning to begin taking down Christmas items but Lil Joe and DH had a Nerf gun war which became quite lively.

Those are the best ones!

Finally made it through all the laundry from Mitchell's room. I have a pile that will go to Goodwill, and a pile that will go to Evan after Mitchell tries it on. I have soooooo many pairs of socks from him, I'm considering seeing if a homeless shelter will take them. I'm not sure if they will only accept new pairs so I'll try to locate one and call tomorrow. I really hate throwing them away, they're in decent condition.

I tentatively agreed to do RunDisney next January with a few friends from work. I said that I would go but it really depends on the cost. Guess I better get back to the gym.

I watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie last night (I was that bored). This used to be my favorite show when I was a kid. The episode was during Xmas and each person was trying to get enough money together to get Xmas presents. Laura bartered her horse with Mr. Olsen so that she could get a stove for her mom. I was so upset that she gave up Bunny the horse!

That's all I have, have a great day!

 

[tazdev3225]

Good morning everyone. Dreary day here. Still on the warmer side but gray and wet.

Disney came out with a Digital Dining Card promo today. Of course the dates don't match mine. I chatted with my daughter and we decided to forgo the offer. It would have only been $50 a night per room, not per person. That wouldn't even cover a total meal for one person when divided by 4. We have decided to save some money we will take some breakfast type foods with us and economize that way. None of us are big breakfast eaters anyway so a box of danish or a bag of mini bagels will work well with a cup of coffee.

@Kirby - so glad the grandkids are home and none the worse for wear. I do hope your daughter's attorney addresses this with the courts. I agree with others I wouldn't trust her ex.

@Snowysmom - Glad you found a realtor you like. I check listings in my area now and again and prices are dropping. I feel bad for the young couple across the street that overpaid for their house last year. The houses are going for $30,000 less now than they paid. Upside down mortgages are tough. I hope you can get what you paid for the condo, but also that you find what you really want.

I am still working on organizing pictures. I am missing a couple of memory cards and a couple have decided they needed to be reformatted. I am hoping once I go back to the hard drive I found or what I did save in the computer has the pictures. One of the cards is my trip to Scotland with Jim and I would hate to lose those pictures. I am just frustrated the recovery work that I sent out for is taking so long. I did have the oddest experience. I was going through the memory cards and all of a sudden the oddest files showed up on the cards that were not there before. I have no clue how that happened.

Thought I would share a couple more pics from the holidays. When I went to Lancaster, I went to the Disney store at the outlets. I hope they never close that store as it is a favorite stop. I found a tree skirt that I liked that was marked down and 25% off on top of which I saved another 10% using my Disney card. My cat Adso has decided it is his blanket.


Yoda ignores the tree skirt and Adso most of the time. He's in the background. My mom liked my tree, it's half Disney (my side) and half sports (Jim's side). I don't decorate the bottom because Adso likes to undecorate the tree.



New Year's Eve Day was so much fun, but I get a kick out of my day. He falls asleep anywhere and then swears he was reading the paper or doing puzzles. We all check to make sure he is still breathing, a bit morbid I know. I don't think he was doing the puzzles, but I am thankful at my age to still have my dad with us even if he does sleep in the oddest places.


This was the group shot my mom decided to get. 3 of my brothers and one actually has his hand on my shoulder a rarity for sure., a couple cousins, nephews and sister-in-law. It made me rethink my mom and dad's Christmas gift. I am going to try and get as many pictures of them with the grandkids through the years as Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Hope you all have a great day.

 

[lynxstch]

Good sunny morning to all! Going to be one more nice day, then temps start falling again

@tazdev3225 --Your pictures are great. 3 things--1 we have a cat that looks exactly like that and sleeps under the tree. 2- we have a roll top desk exactly like the one in your picture and 3- Don can fall asleep like that at any time and does frequently. I too check to make sure he's breathing, as one never knows
@Snowysmom Your kids are right. You aren't happy living where you are. It's not 'home' to you. I hope you can find something that puts you in a better state of mind
@Pea-n-Me The roast looks yummy. I make mine in the crock pot all the time. It's one of my go to comfort foods when it's cold outside

I called Dave (handyman) yesterday to ask when he could start the bathroom. He said he thought we were waiting for tax time. I said I told you we want it done asap. He's going to come over one day, and we are going to measure everything, and make a list of everything needed from top to bottom. Then it will take a few trips to Lowes to get everything, assuming it's all in stock, which is unlikely. He doesn't want to start until everything is here and ready to go before they start tearing it apart. We can't wait! We've decided that his next job will be to build a ramp outside the back door. Don is just having too many issues walking these days, and I'm afraid he's going to fall on the steps or walking down the driveway to the car.

Am going to post a link-- It happened in our little city yesterday. It's been on Tik Tok for weeks now, , so some of you may have heard of it, and has made the news around the country, and in some cases around the world. I just happened to be grocery shopping at Walmart yesterday , at exactly the right time that it happened. We saw a news truck when we pulled in, and people in uniform getting out of a car, but we couldn't figure out what was going on. We had heard about it, but didn't know that Fox News was going to cover it. We are so happy for him. He deserves it!

Have a nice day!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

That was really nice, Lynn, thanks for sharing!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good rainy morning friends,

It has been pouring on and off around here! AuntieMe3, prayers you are staying dry and warm. Dad is currently at his doctor's appointment. Thank God, one of the receptionist's yesterday shared with dad the location of a much closer parking lot that he said worked out perfectly. I am, of course, praying his appointment goes well and that he comes home safely and dryly! Tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be a better for when he goes to the ENT and Ralph's. Laundry will probably wait until Saturday. I still don't understand why dad won't try once a free trial of grocery delivery from either Ralph's or Pavilion's. I understand for perishable items such as milk or the prepackaged salads he gets for himself preferring to choose them personally. But surely someone else could deliver to us a few cases of Aquafina! We shall see what weather tomorrow brings. Grateful always of course no matter what. All is good and how blessed we are.

I finished watching last night The Gift of Peace which was truly a beautifully done and poignant movie. I would absolutely recommend it just know going in that it is not a typical Hallmark movie at all. Instead, it's a story of how God brought together a small group of people to help each other heal through loss, grief, and rekindle faith and relationships with Him. A Christmas Melody is the last movie we still have to watch. I'll share about that when we do.

God Bless Lou Lou, dear Kirby! I love her spirit!

Thanks so much, Pea. We set the new laptop up earlier this morning. Dad and I agree that we both like it better so far than the laptop he returned to Best Buy yesterday. The screen size on this Asus is 15.5” which is the same as his old laptop plus the screen and keyboards are easier to read than on the returned one. Dad will try it out this afternoon. I am very hopeful it’s a keeper!

Big hug, Snowysmom. I am very thankful for your kind friend as well as your new real estate agent who sounds like a good fit (low key, no pressure) too. ITA with your children! You absolutely should feel at peace in your home! I pray that you will find that to come and that you know God is leading you there. We are all cheering you on in loving support, too.

Thank you, Footballmouse for checking into donating clothes to both Goodwill and a homeless shelter. My friend Terri has taken good condition but used clothing to a homeless shelter for me and dad. Also the church I was so active in pre pandemic has the homeless in the park ministry that I try to donate to through food and clothing. There may be a church in your area that does likewise. Goodwill should absolutely appreciate the donation, as well. Good for you for wanting to participate in Run Disney! Cheering you on in advance!

Taz, what wonderful pictures! Thank you so much for sharing with us. I’m glad you have Adso and he is sure blessed to have dear you! Prayers continuing for your lost and recovering pictures.

Beautiful story, dear Lynn! Praise God for the kindness of Rory and all the others who truly made Butch’s life brighter not only by allowing him to retire but through friendship. I am also so grateful that you got to be present to see this act of grace occur! Ramp and Bathroom remodel prayers

Wishing all of you a warm and dry day of joy!

 

[Snowysmom]

@flyingdumbo127 I like the move The Gift of Peace. It is just as you said.

@tazdev3225 Love the pictures. The kitty looks so nice under the tree. Your Dad looks like he is having a nice nap.

Back from lunch. We ate lunch and talked for almost 3 hours. We could keep going too. We tried a new Chinese restaurant in town and it was pretty good. Work was busy but it is always nice to see everyone.

I paid off my Disney cruise for May. Now I just need to let my NH friend know we are good to go. We are going down the day before and staying at the airport hotel in Orlando. We have transfers to and from Port Canaveral.
We will most likely use Logan Express to get to the airport. Airport parking is so expensive and I do not like driving to Logan airport. This way we just get on the bus and get right to the terminal. I am not putting too much planning into this cruise. I want it to be just a chill out kind of time. A time away from the reality of life. We will definitely get off the ship at Castaway Cay but I am not sure we will at Nassau. I told her we should take advantage of time on the ship while others are in port.

Have a good evening. It is cold and dreary here now, around 37. Same forecast for tomorrow.

 

[frog3101]

Just another quick “howdy”, to let you know my friends friend passed away early this AM. I was told she passed peacefully in her sleep. My friend has a very heavy heart, but is thankful her friend is no longer in pain.
I also learned today that a gal I worked with moons ago passed away yesterday, also from cancer. I had not talked to her in years, she was only 5 years older than me. Just sad all the way around. Cancer is a horrible beast.
Hoping all of you have a good evening.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Frog, I am so sorry about your friend's friend. Cancer is plain horrible!

Snowysmom, truly God Bless your kind friend. I am so thankful you have Disney trip to look forward to! Also, glad you liked the movie, I hoped you would.

Thanks to God, all went very well for dad at the doctor this morning. I appreciate all of your extra prayers so much. Thank you.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Love and good night, friends.

 

[Kirby]

Beautiful day, sunny, light wind, temperatures in the 50's. No need for a jacket. Met a friend for lunch before picking Lou Lou up from preschool.

When DD and Lil Joe got home we took down all the Christmas decorations. Didn't take long when we all pulled together.

Dinner was grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Then another Nerf gun war, this time Lou Lou participated. She played both sides depending on who had the most Nerf bullets at the moment. I hid out in the bedroom again but could hear all the fun.

 

[Snowysmom]

Frog I am so sorry for your friends who passed from cancer. It is a horrible disease.

Kirby I always hid out when the kids and Chris had nerf battles. Kenny's kids use targets right now so I hope it stays that way. But it probably won't. LOL!

Good morning. Another dreary morning. At least it is still dark so I can't see the gray and depressing sky. More rain coming. After work I have grocery shopping to do and then tidy up the condo for tomorrow.

Off to work. Have a good day.

 

[Judique]

Frog I am so sorry for your friends who passed from cancer. It is a horrible disease.

Kirby I always hid out when the kids and Chris had nerf battles. Kenny's kids use targets right now so I hope it stays that way. But it probably won't. LOL!

Good morning. Another dreary morning. At least it is still dark so I can't see the gray and depressing sky. More rain coming. After work I have grocery shopping to do and then tidy up the condo for tomorrow.

Off to work. Have a good day.

My son and daughter in law bought nerf guns for my 6 and 7 yo granddaughters. They got them on New Years Day which was around 60 degrees here, and younger DD took them to the park in the complex where son lives. They played for a few minutes until some people came with similar aged kids and then it was playground equipment and running and laughing - the nerfs were pretty much forgotten.

Follow up doctor appt at 10:30 for me. I didn't get around to doing my fasting blood work until yesterday so I should have rescheduled but my head has been stuffed up from sinus so I think I'll go by anyway.

@Breezy_Carol - before doing my blood work Lab Corp presented me with an option. Medicare apparently won't pay for one of the tests ordered without a form filled out and a diagnosis. So, I could 1. pay out of pocket. 2. Have the test and wait to see whether I actually got a bill or 3. come back at another time, after getting doc to rewrite my paperwork.

The upfront cost was $375. Of course Medicare's allowance is probably something like $25!!! Out of pocket cost requests are so ridiculous. I went ahead and had the testing done and asked why they just didn't use my Carefirst. Well, they 'are' going to use my Carefirst also. Anyway, they then told me if I get a bill I can have my doc redo the paperwork and resubmit it. I had a 6:30 am appointment since I had to fast, and I can say I didn't wish to deal with this at that hour, before coffee. Blood testing is stressful for me as they are always poking around trying to find a vein. Many times they end up trying both arms and then take it from my hand. It's not the pinch, it's just waiting for them to get it over with and I don't like looking at the tubes - I get queasy quickly and fear fainting. Anyway, she was quick and got me the first time, which isn't the norm.

Gray day here, with sun and cloudy forecast and a high of 51. After the recent 60ties it feels chilly.

Have a good day all.

 

[footballmouse]

Happy Friday!

Another boring night last night. Picked up my clicklist order from Kroger and then swung by and picked up Mitchell's prescription. I was planning to have tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner but Kroger was out of tomato soup , ended up with Chipotle .

Working from home today so I'll be able to get the house and litter boxes cleaned. I have a couple of errands to run so I might wait until I clock out or I'll go out during lunch. I work this weekend so I need to get stuff done today.

Normally I watch the Today show in the mornings but Al Roker is back today after being off sick. I know they are going to make a huge deal over him and honestly I don't like the guy, he needs to retire. Anyways I decided on a couple of episodes of MASH until the local news is on.

Off to do the dishes, have a great day!

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. After the last 3 days of not having to put a coat on to go outside (I even went barefoot a couple of times), we're back to clouds and a high of 42 today.

I cleaned both bathrooms yesterday, did laundry, and washed the kitchen floor and rugs. It was so nice out that I hung the rugs outside to dry. Very unusual for this time of year. I figure we'll get a whopper of a storm soon, as that seems to happen after a spurt of nice weather.

Since a friend of mine got me to try creative writing, I am finding it a stress reliever. Summer still hasn't gotten anywhere with her health problems, and yesterday my other Sister in Law called me to tell us that BIL is having heart issues and they haven't figured out what to do. Add those to Don having more breathing issues lately and my stress has hit a high point. The writing keeps my mind off some of it. I do most of it after I go to bed at night. 2 nights this week I was up until 2 am, and still going at it on my phone.

I think I am going to start shampoo'ing the dining room and living room carpets. We are thinking of having hardwood floors put down in both rooms, but haven't decided 100% on that yet.

Have a lovely morning everyone

 

[Judique]

Good morning. After the last 3 days of not having to put a coat on to go outside (I even went barefoot a couple of times), we're back to clouds and a high of 42 today.

I cleaned both bathrooms yesterday, did laundry, and washed the kitchen floor and rugs. It was so nice out that I hung the rugs outside to dry. Very unusual for this time of year. I figure we'll get a whopper of a storm soon, as that seems to happen after a spurt of nice weather.

Since a friend of mine got me to try creative writing, I am finding it a stress reliever. Summer still hasn't gotten anywhere with her health problems, and yesterday my other Sister in Law called me to tell us that BIL is having heart issues and they haven't figured out what to do. Add those to Don having more breathing issues lately and my stress has hit a high point. The writing keeps my mind off some of it. I do most of it after I go to bed at night. 2 nights this week I was up until 2 am, and still going at it on my phone.

I think I am going to start shampoo'ing the dining room and living room carpets. We are thinking of having hardwood floors put down in both rooms, but haven't decided 100% on that yet.

Have a lovely morning everyone

View attachment 730146

Have to leave in 10 minutes for my doctor appointment. I'm having a lot of drainage and sometimes it feels like a summer cold and other times I'm dry as bone. I'm surrounded by cat and dog hair and use the swiffer constantly but I think having 3 cats in the house is part of the problem.

I think you would enjoy hardwood flooring. My old house had it when I arrived but had it covered by carpet in the living room and bedrooms. I quickly snatched it out of there.

Eventually the whole ground floor - 2 bedrooms, living room, dining and kitchen are hardwood. So much easier to keep clean. Bathroom is a tile floor.

Upstairs is still carpeted as is the stairs. The upstairs are getting stripped out soon. The carpet on the stairs is good as it sort of may cushion a fall - but the hair is a problem, so still thinking that.

Basement is tiled but I hate the color. I want to do it over but it's so filled with junk!

Anyway, I use the swiffer dry floor duster (from the commercial) and its very quick to get cat hair fluffs - I have a Persian and a long haired orange cat plus a short haired orange and white cat. So they drop a lot of hair. The Yorkie does his share also. I also use the wet swiffer in the kitchen on the engineered hardwood in there. I have to make sure it gets dry after wiping with the wet swiffer, so I keep a lot of rags around. So far so good.

The other rooms I spot clean daily. Cats, you know. I used to do an on my knees job but can't do it anymore, so its swiffer and dry. Not recommending this as what works for me may ruin your floor. I should mention I will rinse the swiffer from the kitchen to use in the other rooms so it's mostly just wet with water.