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

[flyingdumbo127]

has returned. Dad decided to go to CVS and Pavilions anyway. Thank God, it's not at all heavy but still, I feel so badly he needs to go out in it. Praying his trip goes quickly and easily. I am looking forward to watching online worship in a little while and later looking online for some needed things and dad still needs to spend the remainder of his Amazon birthday gift. Target FYI this week is that they are offering some extra Target Circle deals.

Enjoy your flowers, Snowysmom! May they indeed bring you good memories and comfort!

Lynn, I'm so glad Don is doing better. Continuing prayers for both of you!

Pea and Bobbiwoz, waving hi and prayers that both of you are having a good Sunday.

Have a warm and good day, friends. I will check in later.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hi, all! Just a quick check-in. Home safely but a lot to catch up on and get settled back in. DH started a load of laundry and I took the cats out briefly for some fresh air. They were very happy to see us.

Glad to hear Don is doing a bit better, and hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Will post more later or tomorrow.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Welcome PollyannaMom. Thank you for letting us know you're safely back. I'm so grateful to God that your trip was such a fun one. I look forward to hearing more about it. Aw to your Our furry friends are so loyal indeed. Try not to do everything at once today. Take some time to just unwind and be home

Dad is safely back from morning shopping. He was able to also use our favorite secluded Coinstar machine at Pavilions to get us an Amazon e gift card. That is such a blessing to be able to do every couple of months or so when our small plastic jar is full.

Beautiful and worship service this morning that was mostly kid led. The youngest children even sang one of my favorite hymns, "We are One in the Spirit."

Prayers each of you are staying warm and having a good afternoon, too.

 

[tazdev3225]

Good afternoon, at least I think it is still afternoon.

Busy weekend once again. Helped my mom set up for the luncheon at church yesterday and then did a couple of errands. I made 2 cakes, one for my daughter's birthday a little late as her birthday was 2 months ago and one for church. Then I made a new recipe, that I sort of made up, soup for the luncheon. I put that in the crockpot to cook overnight. The soup was a HUGE hit. I started out wanting to make a vegetarian chili but it became vegetarian chili soup instead.

Today was church and then the luncheon afterwards. I even got Ella to go for the first time since the pandemic started. She has promised to go more often. The luncheon was a huge success. We had about 9 soups and so many desserts we froze a couple and put some in the fridge for next week's "coffee hour". It was something we did at my old church before we merged and we started it here after the merger. It is amazing how you can feel more a part of something when you get together for fellowship over coffee and a snack.

Tonight is a Basketball Game for Wyatt. He is one of 2 third graders they put on the JV team. Ben had his First Reconciliation yesterday. He high fived the Priest not realizing the Priest was saying a prayer. Was totally bored and "confessed" he likes to say Bad Words. This particular priest probably went easy on him because he is known to say "Bad Words" while driving. Never post things like that on Facebook, lol.

Busy week ahead too, and baseball season hasn't even started. Then I really get busy.

Hope you all have a good evening.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

What a great post, TazExtra thankful to God with all you have been through lately for the blessing of such a nice Sunday. and your mom for you did at church today. Positive fellowship sure does make a huge difference all-around. I appreciate Ben's honesty and hope the priest did, too. prayers to Wyatt for a fun and good game.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

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[Snowysmom]

Good morning. Sunny and 35 here this morning. It is light now early so I took my walk and enjoy listening to the birds. I thought I heard cardinal though I could not see him. I had a nice visit with Kenny yesterday. We took a walk and had supper together. He talked about coming over for supper or going out to dinner when I am living in the area if I decide to buy the condo which I am truly seriously considering.

Have a good day.

 

[PollyannaMom]

A few more pics:


Mardi Gras parade at Universal


Hogwarts castle at night (taken by DS)


The Blues Brothers show

 

[Judique]

I see cardinals all day long. I have about 6 pairs that visit or live on my property. The pairs don't always get along with other pairs and will chase one another away from the feeders. On Saturday we trimmed my trees between myself and my neighbor. He did the most work and had to use the chain saw on the trunks up high because they had gotten way too tall.

I was afraid we would find nests with eggs but we were lucky and only exposed one nest which was not being used yet. Neighbor moved it a bit lower. It's still 10 feet off the ground so they can use it or build another.

The organics truck just came through and took away what I had bagged and put in my cans for today. I still have a lot of branches to chop small and will do that as the week goes along. It's good to clean up the tree line and see more sun on the yard.

Saturday evening DD came by with the granddaughters and stayed overnight. They left at 9:30 on Sunday to get a start on their other obligations. DD and the girls are going to London over Easter week. She has a lot to get done in prep for that.

After they left Sunday morning I cleaned up a bit and went back to bed. Their visits can be exhausting, especially after I had worked on the trees all that morning. Even younger DD was tired after playing outside on the swings with them. Sunday morning I was up before 6 and figured I'd have a peaceful moment before their breakfast. One minute later the younger DGD came into the kitchen. I made my coffee and we shared a bagel. By 6:30 the other DGD was out of bed and ready to play. As it got brighter they got dressed and went out to swing and do gymnastics on the bars.

Older DGD (7) does well. They are in a gym class and she can climb the rope. DD took a video and she shimmied right up there. The gym guy had to tell her not to go so high. She was the only one in the class that made it up the rope. Younger DGD couldn't even get on the rope.

DD also had a video of older DGD doing her cart wheels. She does very well for the time she has spent learning these skills. Again, young DGD can't do one CW yet. They have been in all the classes together but the older one is just more athletic. Younger is a girly girl - I hope it isn't too sexist to say that. She will arrive in a dress, carries her purse complete with makeup, jewelry, and is just more into dolls than athletics, although she does well in swim class.

So today I must spend catching up. Tuesday and Thursday are car appointments, one for a recall and the other for regular maintenance.

 

[footballmouse]

Good Monday morning.

Worked all weekend so nothing exciting or fun to write about. I did meet up with the kids at a state park lodge for the pancake breakfast. Mitchell and Evan tried but weren't able to break Jacob's pancake eating record from last year. Still holding strong with 13 pancakes .

Listened to the Reds spring training game. They were winning 12-1 so it was a boring game.

He high fived the Priest not realizing the Priest was saying a prayer.

Omg, this made me laugh. It's something that one of my boys would have done at church.

We had really hard rain and strong winds all day Friday, I noticed Saturday when I went out back with the dogs that a huge tree limb fell from my neighbor's tree . It's so big that it's laying across his entire back yard. That is definitely going to be a big job to get that cleared up.

Off to make some breakfast, have a great day!

 

[Judique]

Good morning. Sunny and 35 here this morning. It is light now early so I took my walk and enjoy listening to the birds. I thought I heard cardinal though I could not see him. I had a nice visit with Kenny yesterday. We took a walk and had supper together. He talked about coming over for supper or going out to dinner when I am living in the area if I decide to buy the condo which I am truly seriously considering.

Have a good day.

Sounds like Kenny is on board with this condo. I hope it works out. In my mind I feel that it's a good decision. But I also feel that the first condo wasn't all bad as it gave you a lot of perspective. It's difficult to know what will work until you've lived the life. Being alone is not easy. I count my blessings that younger DD stays with me and is so good to me.

Older DD and I get along well also but on a different playing field. We would never manage to live together long term. Same with son. Each needs more space to live their own lives. Younger DD is a different personality and can share her life easier. Still, she makes most of her own decisions and maintains her privacy by simply closing her door. She has her own bedroom, sitting/office area and bath upstairs.

Wishing you the best if you decide to purchase. I'm hoping I can stay in this home long term with minimal support if DD ever decides to change her lifestyle. I would definitely hire some support such as housekeeping, yard work and other maintenance. Heck, I need/want that now!

The weather here is also easier in winter than New England. (I have that experience after living in Rhode Island for 3 years.) My area seems milder than western Maryland where Lynn lives. The ground has not turned white so far this year. We've seen flakes but nothing stuck. March still has the possibility.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. Sunny and 60 today. Dave was here until after 8 last night. Half of the floor is done completely. He ran into a plumbing issue and had to stop for the day. Whoever did the plumbing in this house was a moron. They ran the toilet and tub into the same line, so when he cut the old tub line off, he didn't realize it would also stop the water flow to the toilet. Today he's coming back at noon, and getting into the crawl space in the basement and trying to see if he can figure out how to separate the toilet and tie it into the new pipes he put in yesterday.

We were both too tired to do anymore. We had been at it since 10 am. We had to make a Lowes run for plumbing parts, and he got the wrong size toilet flange, so he had to make another trip around 6. The girl in plumbing argued with him that the size he bought was what he was looking for. He pulled out his tape measure and made her look at the ones on both. One was 3 1/2, 1 was 4. She conceded by saying, oh, someone must have put that in the wrong spot. Imagine that, something in Lowes not where it belonged. He put the old toilet back so we don't ruin the new one with painting , drywall, tiles etc. But when he turned the main back on,, there was water coming out from the old tub line. So he turned off those turn offs and left them off. We still have water to the rest of the house, and thankfully a second bathroom. I am assuming he's going to have to turn it off today, so I filled buckets with water. Would have filled the tub, but it's out in the backyard, lol.

I was tired, my legs ached from being on my feet for 10 hours. All I could manage to do was make a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich, grab a glass of milk, and watch 30 min of Idol before I had to go to bed.

He's going to try and finish all the plumbing today, and see what electrical has to do. This is definitely going to be longer than a 3 day project, but I want it done right.

And of course my kitchen sink is clogged, yet again. Called the plumber this morning, they can't come till tomorrow. It's one thing after the other.

Don's still not feeling well, and refuses to call his Dr. I'm done trying to reason with him. He's going to do what he wants to do .



I'm too tired to even think straight at this point.

Have a good day.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

's prayer for each of you! Thanks for sharing, Lynn. Yikes though to be at work so late REST!

Snowysmom, ITA with Judique's wise and kind words. They go perfectly with Scripture from Romans of all things working for good and your well being by God's Love and Grace. extra to you and also Kenny this new week ahead.

Judique, God Bless both of your precious granddaughters. Each are indeed wonderfully, fearfully, and perfectly made just as they are. Both are also so blessed to have you as their grandma. Thank you for the love you give them. My own grandma, as I've shared, was and always will be, someone I cherish. It always warms my heart to know that grandparent love is going strong in other families

Thank you for sharing more great pictures of your adventure with us, PollyannaMom. That you got a good night's rest last night after a day of travel.

Footballmouse, I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed fan. Sounds like a lot of fun to me.

and good morning back to you, Pea!

Sending extra prayer this morning to Dazed, Frog, and Kirby. B&B, thinking of you, it's been a while (I think) since you've posted, prayers all is well. Bobbiwoz, Taz, AuntieMe3, Easyas, and all of my Quacker family, and have a great day. I'll check back later.

 

[Snowysmom]

@lynxstch I many times wonder why men ( and not all men to be fair) do not call the doctor when it is necessary. I hope Don listens to you and calls the doctor. He will feel better. Take care of yourself too. It sounds like it time for a quiet day soon.

@TazDev Your DGS is a hoot.

@Judique Your DGSs sound like such lively young ladies. How nice to spend time with them and your DD. Thank you for your kind words of wisdom. I believe that I needed to be in this condo in order to know what I really needed. It was a step to finding out the right path. Talking with Kenny yesterday reassured me that I am doing the right thing in going out near him and that he will be there for me when needed. Not that Jeff is not there for me as he certainly is. However, I don't like to ask him for help much because he has 4 kids and a very busy job as well as a very busy family life. He is looking over the condo docs for me and coming to look at the condo Saturday. I am fortunate that both guys are taking good care of me. I however am hoping to be independent for my life. I do not like to ask for help but I also realize that sometimes it is the best thing to do. Chris used to be my go to person but now I have to rely on the kids. Being alone is not easy but I am hoping this condo in the location near Kenny gives me the option to be by myself when needed and go to Kenny's when I get lonely. He has told me his house is my house. I know living with him is not the right decision but living nearby may just be. I think he is a bit less stressed now that he knows I will be nearby to help out. He does not have anyone else in the area. He also tells me that just because I buy this condo does not mean I have to stay there for life. I know that down the road and I mean many years down the road if I am still on this earth, I may decide to do something different. I truly hope and pray that this place will be a good fit for me. It checks off all the boxes.

It is a nice sunny day out and in the 40s. Great walking weather even with a bit of wind.

Have a good rest of the day.

 

[Judique]

@lynxstch I many times wonder why men ( and not all men to be fair) do not call the doctor when it is necessary. I hope Don listens to you and calls the doctor. He will feel better. Take care of yourself too. It sounds like it time for a quiet day soon.

@TazDev Your DGS is a hoot.

@Judique Your DGSs sound like such lively young ladies. How nice to spend time with them and your DD. Thank you for your kind words of wisdom. I believe that I needed to be in this condo in order to know what I really needed. It was a step to finding out the right path. Talking with Kenny yesterday reassured me that I am doing the right thing in going out near him and that he will be there for me when needed. Not that Jeff is not there for me as he certainly is. However, I don't like to ask him for help much because he has 4 kids and a very busy job as well as a very busy family life. He is looking over the condo docs for me and coming to look at the condo Saturday. I am fortunate that both guys are taking good care of me. I however am hoping to be independent for my life. I do not like to ask for help but I also realize that sometimes it is the best thing to do. Chris used to be my go to person but now I have to rely on the kids. Being alone is not easy but I am hoping this condo in the location near Kenny gives me the option to be by myself when needed and go to Kenny's when I get lonely. He has told me his house is my house. I know living with him is not the right decision but living nearby may just be. I think he is a bit less stressed now that he knows I will be nearby to help out. He does not have anyone else in the area. He also tells me that just because I buy this condo does not mean I have to stay there for life. I know that down the road and I mean many years down the road if I am still on this earth, I may decide to do something different. I truly hope and pray that this place will be a good fit for me. It checks off all the boxes.

It is a nice sunny day out and in the 40s. Great walking weather even with a bit of wind.

Have a good rest of the day.

Having family close is comforting. I feel fortunate in so many ways that I have family 40 minutes to a bit over an hour away. I also have my older DD's best friend a 5 minute drive away and she is always there for me as well. She's been a fixture in my family since she was 10 and at age 45, her father lives with her and her Mom passed about 6 years ago. And with my long time in my home, I have many old neighbors that I know and love. It makes it easier.

 

[AuntieMe3]

Happy Monday. We got home yesterday afternoon and it was COLD, COLD so DH made a fire and kept us really warm all night. Dolly was soo happy to see us, DD too I guess. LOL Dolly did really good with DD, sounds like better than when she's just here with me. LoL I feel better about leaving her again on Friday for my quick trip to see my sister and niece.

We had a great time this weekend. Friday, we had drinks and did some gambling, Saturday, we had a buffet breakfast and then drove across the River to our friend's house. She lives in a cute little neighborhood a couple blocks from the River. She has a golf cart that seats four so we drove down to the river park area and back. We headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. It's was our friends mom's 84th birthday so we were celebrating at her favorite restaurant. It a prime rib place, really good and a great bargain. It was only $24 per person, there was like a buffet of sides and prime rib was carved table side. They also had some amazing desserts, we all shared so we got a little taste of them all. We all really enjoyed it a lot. Went to breakfast yesterday morning and then headed home.

Need to get things done before I leave Friday. Hope you so have a great day.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good afternoon from chilly but warmer thanks to dad making himself in advance some dinner for later in the oven, LA,

I'm trying to organize a bunch of All I can say is for those of you that enjoy series of books, don't ever try completing multiple series at the same time! Or if you do, lol, keep track of titles from the get-go. All good and being busy helps keep me warm, too. I'm grateful dad did stay home today, which as I have said, he needs to do more often. A kind friend who gets Guideposts will be sharing them with me. When I'm done with them, please let me know if any of you would enjoy reading one.

Snowysmom, God has blessed both you and your sons with one another. I am so thankful to Him extra for that. It's never easy for me either to ask for help for myself. I finally much better "got" that doing so is more than okay at times and in fact, can be a kindness towards who I am asking even, by my trusting in them to ask. More than that, of course, taking care of YOU is what God wants for you. Continuing for you all-around, my friend. I do believe the condo near Kenny will be a wonderful next step for both of you, really, plus your grandchildren. Think of the fun and memories with them to come that living closer to them will help make more possible. I am PMing you

to you as well, Judique, with similar gratitude to God for the loving support He has gifted you and your circle of family and friends with in each other. How lovely that you have such a special relationship with your daughter's friend. When I was growing up, I remember, often times seeking out friendships of older but younger women to be an extra younger than my beloved grandma, mom to me. Thank you for blessing your daughter's friend in that way.

AuntieMe3, welcome It definitely is still awfully cold around here. Please do take care and stay warm and well. LOL, to sweet Dolly. She reminded me of some preschoolers who sometimes let loose (as they needed to) at school rather than at home. One little boy who I came to love and really connect with. I remember his mother coming in one day with a warning that her son had a difficult weekend due to traveling and often acted out a great deal. School and the known routine found him doing just fine. So, it definitely works both ways. What matters is Dolly (like any child) knows she is loved and how blessed indeed she is.

 

[tazdev3225]

Good afternoon.

The sun was out today which was nice. The days are getting longer and warmer so I can live with that,

@Snowysmom - I think the new condo sounds lovely. It will be nice to be close to things and your son. That's an added bonus. My kids are all within 5 minutes of me and my parents are within 15 minutes, 10 if I don't hit all the red lights. My one brother lives around the corner from our parents and it is a comfort to know he is there and checks on them every day. Of course, my mom feeds him dinner too.

Thanks everyone who liked my Ben. I forgot he was also asked what he was giving up for Lent. Now he will be March 18th and the boy cares about nothing. He is in Catholic School and wanted to know why he had to give up anything. His response to the priest was he gave up his friends for Lent. He is Mr. Popular so I doubt that lasted more than 5 minutes. That boy is something else, but he always gives me the biggest hugs when he sees me, so I'll keep him. He is dyslexic and I think his class clown routine is a defense mechanism, but the kids all love him in his class.

Wyatt lost his basketball game, so I know he was probably not in a great mood. He is very competitive and hates losing. He never played basketball before so it's a learning experience. They want him on the team because he is good at sports, tall and FAST. This is a very young team and they played hard. Just have some things to work on. I like the coach as a person but not crazy about his coaching techniques. He yells, a lot and loudly. I don't think kids learn anything with that approach.

Today was an easy day for the most part. I got another bag of things to throw away out of the spare room. My aim is to get a bag a week out in the trash and a box a week to be donated. My husband was told he has no say, he would keep everything. After the initial phase I will then go through what I kept and go through it again for donating. I may enlist my mother's help with that. She is very good at making those hard decisions. Then the bed will go and the rug. Before the new rug gets ordered and installed, I plan on painting the furniture. It was given to me by my aunt and must be close to 90 years old. It's solid wood but very dark. I want to refinish it with white. Then I plan on a daybed in the room. This way I can have an occasional guest, but the room will also be functional. I may paint the walls and do away with the light purple, I think it will be my Disney room. I have plates from over the years and autographed plates from the Dining with an Imagineer lunch a few years ago. I would like to display them somewhere. I also have a few collectible posters so it would be the perfect place to display them.

Tomorrow I have the boys, food shopping and getting my taxes done. I will be on edge all morning til I find out whether we owe anything. Hopefully we are OK there.

Not much else going on here right now. Still working on the pictures when I have the time. Hope you all have a good day.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Taz, and I'm also grateful to God you have your mom and that it sounds like the two of you having gotten closer lately, too. I'm sorry about Wyatt's game. to a win next time. Ben is full of spunk which is a positive thing. God Bless both boys. You know, I completely agree about the coach. Yelling does no one anything positive! Wow! How awesome that you had lunch with an Imagineer! I would enjoy hearing about that and seeing pictures of your Disney room as well should that be what you make of the space.

 

[tazdev3225]

Taz, and I'm also grateful to God you have your mom and that it sounds like the two of you having gotten closer lately, too. I'm sorry about Wyatt's game. to a win next time. Ben is full of spunk which is a positive thing. God Bless both boys. You know, I completely agree about the coach. Yelling does no one anything positive! Wow! How awesome that you had lunch with an Imagineer! I would enjoy hearing about that and seeing pictures of your Disney room as well should that be what you make of the space.

My mom and I are close but at times we need to take a break from each other. We are very similar in personalities according to people who know us, but I have a bit of my dad's personality and her mother's also. That does create some conflict. My grandmother was a very hard person to get along with, especially when she drank, and she hurt my mom emotionally. I am not like her in that respect, but I am known for speaking my mind as she did. I think that's what causes the issues with my mom. She is the one person who can bring me out of myself when I am in a mood. I have been known to call her at 6:30 AM from Disney when I travel with other people just to get a perspective on why I am annoyed.

Ben is definitely full of spunk. He is such an amazing kid though with the biggest heart. The coach does bother me with the yelling. That was never my way of coaching. I think it takes the fun out of the game and if you aren't having fun, why play. These kids aren't pros. I dare say none of them will ever be pros, but they are kids just learning the game. I always remember when my brother was about 5 and he got a hit at his baseball game. He ran the wrong way. The coach yelled and made fun of him. He never played another sport until he was in his 30's and started playing rugby of all sports. That taught me a lesson that carried me through all my years coaching. I always told parents I had 4 rules: 1 Have FUN, 2. Learn something, 3. Learn NOT to throw like a girl and 4. HAVE FUN. One of the parents said I had that as 2 rules and wanted to know why. The answer was simple, if you aren't having fun I failed. I told them if they want a gung-ho, win at all costs coach I would get them on a different team. None of the kids were ever switched.

The Dining with an Imagineer was an awesome experience. I had hoped to surprise the girls with it in June, but sadly it still isn't happening. It was expensive but such an amazing experience,