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

[apirateslifeforme]

@Bianca and Bernard, Congratulations to you and your DD and your family!

@Breezy_Carol, I am so sorry about your DD and grandkids! Many prayers for all of you!

@tazdev3225, very glad that your grandson tested negative! Many prayers for him as well on the job front! I'm sorry about your DH's meds...the postal service is AWFUL right now. I noticed that the USPS tracking page now has a big red banner on it regarding their "unprecedented package increases and limited employee availability." I really hope those meds arrive soon.

@Shellsbutt, I totally understand about the depression and anxiety right now - I'm probably the poster child for it Big

@Snowysmom, I really hope that employee got her butt handed to her. When I worked in retail, there were MANY people I would have preferred to not wait on, but I sucked it up and did it. It was often repeated that no matter how important the other to-do tasks were, waiting on customers was ALWAYS your first priority. (Of course, then you'd get in trouble for not getting my tasks done...what can you do, right? )

DH took Josh to his parents' house for the day while I take a "break" (AKA "the million other things I have on my to-do list" ). On Friday, almost as soon as the school day ended, we got a message from the superintendent that this week will be the last week of in-person classes, then they will switch to remote learning from Monday the 21st until Monday, January 11th. But still on the hybrid model, so Josh will go to school tomorrow and Tuesday as usual. I'm glad I had all the stuff ready for teacher and bus driver gifts, so I quickly prepared them yesterday, but then I got to wondering if they can accept them! They're not supposed to go near the kids, they aren't allowed to help them with coats or retie shoes or help them get stuff in/out of their bags...will they be allowed to accept gifts? I'm sure I'm not the only one who will send gifts, and I would hope the superintendent would anticipate that and let us know by now if he didn't want us doing it.

Since I only have tomorrow and Tuesday now to run errands - I stay FAR away from the stores on weekends! - we are finalizing our menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Josh and I will make some cookies, and I think we've settled on decorated sugar cookies (I already bought the mix and the variety pack of decorative toppers/sugars), "buttery potato chip cookies," and this morning I decided on Holiday Krispy Treats. I'll probably throw together some snacky-appetizer-type things for Christmas Eve grazing. For Christmas Day, it looks like we'll make a seafood lasagna. Just need the scallops, but the prices are insane! For the fresh ones anyway...I'll have to check in the freezers next to the seafood departments at the stores.

I am still waiting on that Florida botanical print that was supposedly shipped on November 26th (but took until December 5th to be "accepted" by the USPS). The last update in the tracking was on December 9th, that it is "arriving late but still in transit within the USPS." Today I got a notification from Shutterfly for my annual free metal ornament - the earliest it will arrive is December 29th. Even if I paid double for expedited shipping, to arrive around December 21st, of course there is a notation that they are not responsible for shipping delays. At least it's for me, so if I don't get it for Christmas, it's okay.

Josh and I also have almost finished the picture frames we are making for the family. We glued the gems on this morning, so we just need to Mod Podge them and clean the glass. Then wrap, of course. They're very "blingy" but he made them and he's so excited to give them out. He also signed and dated them on the back - I hope everyone likes them.

I will NOT be shopping on December 26th. I might look online to see if there are any deals on Christmas trees (if any trees are left in stock), but no way am I going to any stores. I will never forget when I worked in the home and gift department at JCPenney...I was scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 26th and while the crowds had thankfully died down by the time my shift started, the area looked like a hurricane had gone through. Boxed cards had been opened and scattered, rolls of gift wrap had the plastic torn off and were battered and crumpled, ornaments and decorations unboxed and many were broken, etc. I don't know what gets into people, but some of them turn into animals. I swear on that day, I spent more time cleaning up and "damaging out" all the ruined stuff. Lots of paperwork involved...(or at least it was 25 years ago!).

 

[Shellsbutt]

Good Morning all! Yesterday was not a good day-I couldn't sleep, I have suffered with insomnia for 20 plus years now, but this was an especially bad night. I had a vivid dream about my older DS-he looked awful, eyes bloodshot like he had been crying. I asked him what was wrong, you don't look well. He answered that he wasn't well, but he couldn't tell me why. Of course, then I woke up. I need to call him and check in on him, he only lives ten minutes away. He's not a talker on the phone though.

It was decided that we needed to make a run to the grocery store, ugh. I cannot stand food shopping, especially now with covid. I was hoping we wouldn't have to wait outside in line, Winco is a zoo on the weekends. The parking lot was full but there was no line to get in. There was someone checking for masks at the door though. With our new order I thought grocery stores were supposed to be at 20% max capacity? Maybe I'm wrong, there were quite a few people inside so we got in and out as quickly as possible. Unfortunately there were a few items we couldn't pick up-fresh salmon(their seafood counter looked yucky) and some nice sourdough bread. So it was off to Raley's(local N CA) to find what we needed. However this particular location seems to be very popular. My husband went up and down the parking lot aisles looking for a place to park. Many spots are now taken up with e-cart and curbside pick up. We both looked at each other and just decided it wasn't worth it, so gave up and drove home.

We got home and unloaded groceries, I took out the cookie dough I had left over from yesterday, I needed it to soften up so I could bake the rest off. Unfortunately my cat Felix likes to get up on the counters and get into everything, even with a spray bottle nearby. I should've just put him in the garage for a bit, but it was damp and cold out. So I stowed the mixing bowl with cookie dough in the empty, cold oven for safekeeping. Yes, you can see where this is going... I went off to put some laundry away and went to talk to my younger son about something. I then turned on the oven to preheat to 350 degrees. He came up to me a few minutes later and asked me if I smelled plastic burning! I ran into the kitchen, opened the oven and discovered the half melted mixing bowl, I'm glad I got to it when I did. I took it out and threw the whole thing into the outside trash can. Oh well! I can't get over how distracted I've become, its really starting to concern me. I'm 49, why is that happening already? I will go into a room and forget why I went in there. I'm just starting this peri menopause roller coaster of wacky periods, no periods, is this brain fog that everybody keeps talking about?

I ended the night on a better note, tuned into the virtual Christmas concert our local symphony puts on every year, we normally are there in person. I also listened to my Charlie Brown Christmas cd, love that music. Does anyone plan on watching the Lifetime mini movie- Secret recipe for seduction? Lol. I told my mom about it, she's excited to watch. It's in partnership with Kentucky Fried Chicken and Mario Lopez plays Colonel Sanders. I think it's only 15 minutes though, is it supposed to be a joke? Anyway, hope everyone has a nice weekend!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes, it is @Shellsbutt ! But don’t be too hard on yourself, there are so many other factors at play today, too!

 

[easyas123]

Firewood from Target? I didn't know they sold it!

Haha obviously my hands were not typing what my brain was thinking! No, no firewood from Target- what I meant to type was stacking firewood! And I never made it to Target...day was nice so we have been outside. I figured I’d be on the road this week w/ work so I’ll stop then.

FIL started hospice treatment last week.

Oh, hugs to you & your family. I hope it’s a peaceful time for all. I just heard from a family friend that their SILs brother had to enter hospice after coming down w/ covid. He was elderly though, and had other issues so I’m not sure if the covid sped things up or aggravated his health situation,

 

[easyas123]

peri menopause roller coaster

Yup. Happy roller coastering..... I’ve also suffered from insomnia since I was a small child. Mine comes and goes, and when it’s here it’s here for weeks. I’ve worked to mitigate it over the years with different degrees of success, but I can’t lie...peri menopause has made it worse.

 

[Shellsbutt]

Yup. Happy roller coastering..... I’ve also suffered from insomnia since I was a small child. Mine comes and goes, and when it’s here it’s here for weeks. I’ve worked to mitigate it over the years with different degrees of success, but I can’t lie...peri menopause has made it worse.

Oh wonderful, this is what I have to look forward to. I just can't believe that I can live on such few hours of sleep every night- I average 3-5 nightly. I do try to take an afternoon nap a few times a week but I just end up laying there, usually don't sleep.

 

[sparkle78]

Josh’s teacher gifts ...as the kids got older I labeled all the gifts on the outside , and dropped them off to the school secretary. She would put them in the teacher mailboxes later. Might be an option.

We also drove around and looked at lights, Friday evening and then got a NY style pizza and watched “ the mandalorian” on Disney + . But my kids changed my favorite “ I’ m dreaming of a White Christmas......to I’m dreaming of a mouthwatering pizza, the kind with lots of cheese.”

So next weekend I’m meeting a girlfriend to walk around her neighborhood and look at lights with special hot cocoa and they can stay home

 

[Shellsbutt]

I will NOT be shopping on December 26th. I might look online to see if there are any deals on Christmas trees (if any trees are left in stock), but no way am I going to any stores. I will never forget when I worked in the home and gift department at JCPenney...I was scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 26th and while the crowds had thankfully died down by the time my shift started, the area looked like a hurricane had gone through. Boxed cards had been opened and scattered, rolls of gift wrap had the plastic torn off and were battered and crumpled, ornaments and decorations unboxed and many were broken, etc. I don't know what gets into people, but some of them turn into animals. I swear on that day, I spent more time cleaning up and "damaging out" all the ruined stuff. Lots of paperwork involved...(or at least it was 25 years ago!).

Lol- I remember working retail and it was 25 years ago too! I worked at Mervyn's-I do miss that store(where I met my husband) but the holidays were so stressful and the customers were mean! I also worked at JCPenneys but at their catalog call center. Remember their catalogs? I loved that job, worked there for 5 years. During Christmas time it was interesting though- we each had our own cubicle we worked out of and when you went on your break or to the bathroom, you had to take all your stuff with you. They called it the Christmas Shuffle. They didn't have enough cubicles for the amount of people working at any one time. So then after your break you'd have to go up and down the aisles and look for an empty cubicle. It was also fun trying to look for a parking space before you started a shift. It was a busy time.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good to come back to lots of extra posts! Thank you all again always for sharing with us and keeping us a Dis family

Hooray, I finished all my Christmas cards! Dad will mail them tomorrow.

Take care extra everyone and know we all care!

 

[lynxstch]

...

 

[lynxstch]

They just gave us a winter weather advisory for tomorrow..to go along with the high of 40 degrees. Anywhere from 2-5" of snow could fall..hopefully its in extreme Western MD and doesn't end up here. Hubby has 2 drs appt tomorrow afternoon that we have been waiting the last 6 months for. But if it snows, I will be calling in the morning and changing them.

Smells so good in here,,the pork smells so good. Can't wait for dinnertime. Trying to get through the ' Lets Meet Again on Christmas Eve' movie from Lifetime, but it's put me to sleep 3x so far. I may just delete it, I have so many others to watch , not much point in sitting through one that can't keep my interest


What is going on today? First it didn't post my morning one till I reposted it,,now it posted the last one 2x, lol. I edited the first one, so it only says ....'s lol!


What the heck...now they say we have the potential for an even bigger storm on Wednesday. 5-8" during the day and 3-5" at nite ..NO NO NO ..WE DONT WANT YOU SNOW..STAY AWAY!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good morning.

Just finished online church and getting ready to walk in Fair Hill.

No test results for us, but unsurprisingly, son-in-law is also positive. They all seem ok though. They are angry at seeing friends on social media doing whatever they want and going out but their family got the virus when they follow precautions.

FYI, there is a show on HGTV at 6 tonight that is a tour of the White House decorations. I plan to watch since we won't be going this year. That was a perk of DS's job, he would get us Christmas White House tours.

Wanted to click more than one button for this one. - Sorry about your family having to deal with Covid and thanks for the tip on the White House Decorations special!

...opened the oven and discovered the half melted mixing bowl, I'm glad I got to it when I did. I took it out and threw the whole thing into the outside trash can. Oh well! I can't get over how distracted I've become, its really starting to concern me. I'm 49, why is that happening already? I will go into a room and forget why I went in there. I'm just starting this peri menopause roller coaster of wacky periods, no periods, is this brain fog that everybody keeps talking about?

Oh, no! Yes sadly, brain fog is a thing. But I agree with Pea:

Yes, it is @Shellsbutt ! But don’t be too hard on yourself, there are so many other factors at play today, too!

There's a lot going on right now, so it won't always be this bad!

Oh wonderful, this is what I have to look forward to. I just can't believe that I can live on such few hours of sleep every night- I average 3-5 nightly. I do try to take an afternoon nap a few times a week but I just end up laying there, usually don't sleep.

I could not manage on that little sleep! Have you tried melatonin? I bought some for DH, as he has occasional trouble sleeping, but I don't think he's tried it yet.

Hooray, I finished all my Christmas cards! Dad will mail them tomorrow.

Good for you! I was supposed to do mine today, but we ended up having to clean out the attic instead. We went to get some tree decorations the other day and found mold.

The guy came yesterday to confirm it, and the men are coming Wednesday or Thursday with harsh chemicals and hepa filters. I'm thankful it can be cleaned without a big construction project, but we had to move and go through a lot of stuff today - wipe down all the plastic bins, get rid of any cardboard boxes and wipe down or toss stuff that was in them. It forced us to do what probably should have been long ago, but the timing is rough, and there were a couple of things upsetting to lose.

So my PSA for the day - store stuff in plastic bins, not cardboard boxes!!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Very slipping thread

I watched most of A Family for Christmas. I liked the idea of it, that Lacey's character came to value family and friendships just not so much the actual story. Recording A Little Christmas Charm right now. Tonight will DVR Unlocking Christmas. I still seem to enjoy Hallmark Movies and Mystery Channel the most of the three (Hallmark, Lifetime, and H M&M). I hope all of you have enjoyed a good movie today

Hug, I'm sorry, PollyannaMom I hope the mold does get quickly resolved that is definitely nothing to mess around with.

Hugs to all for sweet dreams and a good night.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

You all have been chatty today.

We took our walk today. It was a new trail to us, a self guided trail marked by the rangers to include some carpentry things to view. It was interesting and a different part of the park. Said it was 3.5 miles but my tracker said 3.85. No problem on such a beautiful day.

While we were walking, the kids wanted to set up a Zoom, so we had one when we got home. Nice that everyone still likes to see and talk to each other.

I burned some sticks in the firepit while DH rearranged the shed to get the snow blower closer to the door in case Wednesday pans out like they predict. Then placed my first online order for groceries to pick up tomorrow. If it goes smoothly, will be well worth the $!.99. And watched the White House special.

Need to get reading for my church advent study on Tuesday.

 

[Kirby]

Good Sunday Evening to all of you! It's been a rainy day making the cold feel colder. The week's forecast is middle 30's at night/middle 40's during the day. Fortunately mostly sunny for the week. We really needed the rain though.

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted and I haven't read through everyone's posts. Hope everyone is doing okay.

Our son came over and helped put together a treadmill that we bought for our Christmas to each other. No reason not to walk now!

I found out Friday that my mom's roommate tested positive for Covid. Mom's test was negative. Since my sister and I visit her regularly, we have both been exposed. The roommate was moved to the Covid unit in the facility while my mom gets to stay in her room under isolation for the next 14 days. I'm praying that her tests (they get them weekly) remain negative and that the tests my sister and I take will remain negative also. I go for my weekly Covid test tomorrow.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning all. At least it's warm enough outside that we are just getting rain, at least for today. The advisory for snow on Wed is now a watch, and won't be surprised to see it turn into a warning. Hopefully the rain will stay that way today, and we can get hubby's 2 Drs appts out of the way. May also stop at Martins on the way home and get a few of the sales items, just in case. No other big plans for the day, as we head into his second week of retirement. So far , he's not tired or bored with retirement, but I am tired from it, lol!
Have a great day everyone, stay safe!

 

[PollyannaMom]

I found out Friday that my mom's roommate tested positive for Covid. Mom's test was negative. Since my sister and I visit her regularly, we have both been exposed. The roommate was moved to the Covid unit in the facility while my mom gets to stay in her room under isolation for the next 14 days. I'm praying that her tests (they get them weekly) remain negative and that the tests my sister and I take will remain negative also. I go for my weekly Covid test tomorrow.

I hope you all continue to be OK!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good morning.

@Kirby , glad to see you again. Too bad about your mom’s roommate. I hope her and your tests are negative.

DH got his test results - negative. Mine haven’t started being tested. I feel like they may be lost. I’ll email later today.

Rain for us today but Wednesday looks to be a different story.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

@Shellsbutt, welcome to the perimenopause club! SO MUCH FUN! *note sarcasm* ...I've been dealing with it for about 9 years now, we think (doctors), but it's been worse since I had Josh. Definitely the brain fog and being easily distracted. I was hoping that since I started early, it would end early, but nope...

And I do remember the JCPenney catalog very fondly! I loved calling and talking to the people, then going to the store and picking it all up in the special department! My grandmother worked at the same store for about 15 years, so I knew all the ladies there, too. When I was really little, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Christmas catalog. I would go through it at least 5 times and then make my list from it. It got to the point where I wasn't allowed to take any of the JCP catalogs and open them until my mother and grandmother looked at them first, then I could have it

@PollyannaMom, I'm so sorry about the mold and having to throw out sentimental things! We learned the hard way about storing items in plastic and not cardboard. About 20, 25 years ago our water heater in the basement blew and we had several inches of water down there. I'd stored things like books and clothes in cardboard boxes, and they were all on the floor. All had to go in the garbage. So now everything is in plastic bins and off the floor!

@Kirby, I am so sorry for your mom's roommate, and I hope your mom continues to be negative and that you are as well. Lots of prayers!

@Breezy_Carol, glad to hear your DH is negative but I hope your results come soon! And that you test negative as well!

So last night at 7 p.m., we got the call (and 3 texts, and 3 emails, and 3 cell phone calls) from the superintendent that schools are fully remote, effective immediately. No confirmed cases of COVID in the schools, but too many teachers/staff/adults are under quarantine due to exposure, and they cannot adequately supervise the little monkeys. So right now we're sitting here, waiting for the morning meeting and math to begin. There was a thread full of irate parents on the school's PTO page on FB last night, but it's since been removed, as that's not the purpose of the page. I get it...7 p.m. on a Sunday night does make it difficult for parents, but at the same time, with what's going on in our world right now...how do these parents not have a backup plan in place? Even at "normal" times, what do they do when there are snow days? I wouldn't dare say it, though, as I'm "lucky" and "privileged" to be a SAHM and I have no idea what working parents go through...(which is what they'd say if I did post something). Scroll on by, right?

 

[tazdev3225]

apirateslife for me I totally get being virtual with the kids. My daughter put her kids in Catholic school this year because she has a kindergarten and first grader, and she has to be at the hospital at 7 AM. I was willing to help as was her mother in law but it would have been difficult. The first grader was virtual last week due to a classmate being exposed. My daughter's MIL had the boys last week, we take turns. She said after an hour he was climbing the walls. He may also be dyslexic, it is appearing that way even more this year, so that doesn't help. SAHM do not have it any easier. I give you all credit for dealing with schooling virtually.

Well we are expecting rain today and then possible a BIG storm Wednesday. Of course it would be Wednesday as I had plans to go to a friend's for dinner. We use to get together once a month for dinner but with everything going on it has been several months. Fingers crossed we can meet, even for a shorter amount of time.

My grandson is laid off til at least the end of January so I can start ordering everything for my kitchen. Of course now I am worried about all the things that can go wrong. His mother texted me info on the shower she is planning. She invited 9 people from my side out of the 75 she invited and it did not include my granddaughters. I talked with my grandson and told him his aunts planned on attending but I won't be going nor will my mother. My husband and dad are invited but they are not shower attending guys. For my dad it's unheard of.

We are in lock down, sort of, in PA and this would be 5 days after the restrictions are lifted right after Christmas. I just can't risk my husband's health. My grandson is not happy about any of it.

Nothing starts a gloomy day off better than an argument with your mother. One of the reports I saw said that if anyone ever had an allergic reaction to any vaccine the recommendation is to NOT get the vaccine for the virus. I had a bad allergic reaction to a tetanus vaccine many years ago. It was bad enough that my mother kept me home from school for 3 days and she NEVER kept me home from school. Now she is saying that it wasn't that bad and I'm silly and foolish to not get this vaccine when I can. My daughter the nurse is refusing it, and my DIL the "nurse" (She got her nursing degree from a trade prep school} said the company she works for has been working on developing a vaccine but they are finding constant issues with the research. The latest was people testing positive for HIV. I just want to wait a bit and see how it plays out, and I also need to get cleared since I did have the previous issue. Now my mom and I won't speak for a week because she hung up on me. I'm thankful to still have my mom at my age and she is in her 80's but seriously I am an adult and can make an informed decision on my own.

I did find out that my granddaughters BFF's whole family has the virus. I feel so bad for them. The BFF told my granddaughter if she was going to get her a Christmas gift just put the money in an envelope for her parents to pay bills. We are going to get a turkey and all the trimmings and drop them off to the house. I can get some of the canned goods at church, a friend has donated the turkey, I will buy the rest. I don't want to insult them so I hope they see this for the gesture it is. It will be from a Secret Santa.

I hope the week gets better than it started out. Have a good day all.