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

[PollyannaMom]

Wow on all those frozen pipes, @Kirby!

Nothing going on here right now, but weather says 4-8 inches between this afternoon and late Friday night. I like snow, but I think we've had enough for this year.

 

[lovemygoofy]

It was only supposed to snow an inch or two this morning. I'm guessing we are at 4 or so now and still snowing. Here's couple pics from my front door this morning.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Morning. Nothing really too good.

We are getting "a wintery mix" of precipitation. It is sleet then snow then sleet and snow mixed. It will be hard to measure as the ice compresses the snow. And the snowfall prediction is all over the place.

This time last year I was getting ready for my trip to Disney World.

In a world without COVID, we would have been getting off our cruise in Baltimore today and having to drive home in this mess.

Re: puzzles, I started a 500 piece puzzle that is a lot of brown and dark green. Really not a lot of fun. We'll see how long before I give up.

Dome of the Rock

I had to google this as I was not familiar.

So this weekend is DGD and my birthday. (Same day) DD was planning a small family get together of the 4 of them, DS and his wife, and DH and me. Then she got a note home yesterday that I child in DGD's class had tested positive for COVID. The last day she was in class was Friday so Sunday will be 9 days post exposure. DD shared CDC recommendations and we are trying to decide what to do. Has me kind of down because I was looking forward to it. DS even took a day off work. We are all so over this.

Speaking of DS, he got into DC for work this morning ok. Luckily the Secret Service is putting him up in a hotel tonight so he doesn't have to make the drive home and back tomorrow.

I was texting with my neighbor who has been in the hospital for 3 weeks with COVID pneumonia. She is doing better but still there. Then texted another neighbor who said they would clear the first neighbors driveway so the husband wouldn't have to. This leads to today's gratitude that we have good neighbors who care for and look out for each other.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Love, Hugs, prayers and warmth to all of you Quacker friends! I'm sorry it is so freezing cold for most of you still. I love the Winnie the Pooh snow bear, Lynn, so cute! That would make for a great meet and greet picture with Pooh (in non real snowy weather, of course).

Always a Blessing to come on in the morning to extra posts. Good to see you, Tina, continued prayer for your MIL. Carol, prayers for your DGD and the other children in her class, too!

Have a good morning, friends.

 

[Kirby]

Well, DH and crew headed out about an hour ago to try and get as many busted pipes fixed as they can today before the roads ice back up. We're not expecting any precipitation but are under a freeze warning through tomorrow. I'm hoping that the sun comes out later. There is a huge band of snow and ice going through San Antonio now. It's not expected to come up our way. More people are getting their power on thankfully.

Stay warm!

 

[tazdev3225]

Will I have a gratitude for the day and it shocked me. One of my neighbors shoveled everything but my path into the street from the driveway. I was done in 15 minutes. We are now getting some rain or sleet, not sure which, but at least the snow won't be buried under it.

I had a productive morning. I have chili in the crock pot which will give us a couple days meals. "Spanish rice" my cheap version will give us 2 or 3 days microwave meals, and "goulash" (my mom's version but it works) will give me another 4 or 5 meals and they are in the fridge. I have enough food to be supplemented with maybe a pizza or some Chinese food to get us hopefully through the next 2 or so weeks to get my kitchen fully functional.

I plan on resting the rest of the day. I thought of baking but I would have to dig through all the boxes. Maybe I'll head to the bakery tomorrow. There is one around us that makes the BEST Chocolate Chip Pound Cake and butter cake the way my grandfather made it. My grandfather was a German Baker and I have some of the fondest memories of my early childhood in the bakery. This bakery I found is as close to his that I have ever found so I don't mind spending a little extra there..

Have a safe afternoon all those that are in the path of all this nasty weather.

 

[lynxstch]

We lucked out with the storm. Instead of 5-8 or 8-12..we got about 2 1/2 inches. Warning has been cancelled and is now just a weather advisory. Maybe another inch of snow and some sleet and maybe 1/10'th an inch of ice tonite, but we were spared the worse of it. Best part is,,since I already cleared it out 2x this morning,,no more has accumulated and I don't have to do it again. Will throw some ice melt out there on the steps later, and leave the car cover on till tomorrow morning. Hope all my Eastern MD friends luck out too!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Prayers for safety for your DH and his crew, Kirby.

Wow, God Bless your neighbor, Taz Dev! Chocolate chip pound cake sounds tasty!

Kirby, Taz Dev, Lynn, and all in snow, wishing you warmer days ahead for sure!

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

The Ravensberger ones (and specifically the Crafters Cupboard) are much easier than the Kinkade Disney. Those have such tiny details, and the colors can be muddled.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

It looks like it's sleeting outside here now. The roads are only wet, but that will freeze over later. We were all awakened at 5:30 this morning to the town public schools calling (and texting, and emailing) that the schools were going to do an early release today. That doesn't really affect us, as Josh does his remote learning today and tomorrow, so he's already home. All it meant for us is that his last 2 scheduled meetings were cancelled. But tonight is his gymnastics class - the last one of session 3 - and they haven't posted on FB, so we assume they're going to have class.

We don't observe Lent. Growing up, my family wasn't religious and I had never even heard of Lent until I was almost out of elementary school. Is it really bad that I like this time, though, simply because it means the grocery stores have great sales on fish (I LOVE fish, but it's so expensive!) ?

So my MIL told DH and my SIL that she wanted to have last night (Wednesday) to herself, she didn't want anyone sleeping over. DH did stop over after work, as he works only about 10 minutes away, and they had dinner and watched Jeopardy, but then he came home. It's probably good for her to spend longer stretches of time by herself, to get used to being alone. I am worried about her with the wintery weather, but she won't go anywhere anyway. DH said she seems to be doing well, and he, his brother, and sister all think she will do fine in the end.

My mom talked to my uncle yesterday and he seems to be okay as well. He will be moving in with another of my uncles and it looks like they will live out their lives together. I'm not sure what to make of that...you'd have to know my crazy family, but all I can say is that this is going to be VERY interesting!

My blood pressure has come down a bit. I've had several readings in the past few days in the 130s or no higher than 141, over 80s. Yes, that is still elevated, but not nearly as bad as it was. I think the Wellbutrin started working yesterday as well. The doctor had said it would give me energy, and I couldn't sit still yesterday. Today I did 2 25-minute walking tours of Madame Tussaud's museums on YouTube. I'm enjoying using those to walk (walk in place - and I do some extra things as well). So I'm still not sitting around.

I'm sorry about your aunt's death.

I wanted to address your blood pressure issues. I was having insane bp readings for probably a year or more leading up to finally having my hysterectomy and for several months afterwards. Apparently my body was making and pumping so much blood because of the monthly cycle but more because of the tumors and everything growing and needing "life" from blood that it was causing my bp problems. About 6 months after my hysterectomy my bp started to slowly go down and now I'm at 108/70 or so. Just a thought about what's going on but I imagine if you are having anxiety issues you are going to have bp issues and worrying about your bp when taking it doesn't help. Also make sure you are getting all your hormones to include your thyroid checked.

This makes a LOT of sense! My mother - who was a medical assistant until a few years ago, and who has a lot of medical background along with that - did some researching and everything we found says that there is a strong link between cysts/fibroids and high blood pressure. So she wants me to not worry so much about it, and hopefully I can have surgery to remove "those things." I'm surprised, though, that the doctor seemed to disregard that. I've got 5 things growing in there and it sounds like one of them is rather large (I could even feel it while lying on the floor and doing yoga the other day). I'm going to mention it to my gyn when I have my biopsy next week. Thank you, I never would have thought of that!

 

[sweetpeama]

I am so greatful that we have power here. I am greatful we have above zero temps. I am greatful that DH came and dug me out today. OK a story on this one. 16 year old daughter and I were going to run into town and pick up our Michael's order. Which we got a great deal on by combining a rewards voucher along with other discounts thus spending a little over $5 for just under $30 worth of products. I first got stuck trying to reverse out of the parking spot by the house but just thought that some wind in the night had blown a bit behind the tires so I pulled forward and was able to get a running start at going over the low berm of snow. I put the truck into drive and started going across the private road in front of the house when I got stuck so while I was trying to get out by back up and getting a running start I had 16 year old calling DH to let him know what was going on. DH said to put the truck into 4 wheel drive which I did but I was stuck by that time so DH came with the shovel and dug me out enough that I could get out of the yard. Got busy with other things Wed night and didn't get this finished so posting this much and will tell more later.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

The Ravensberger ones (and specifically the Crafters Cupboard) are much easier than the Kinkade Disney. Those have such tiny details, and the colors can be muddled.

I agree. I think the Kinkade Disney are difficult. I borrowed one from DD, started but never finished.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Afternoon checking in!

I'm helping Dad sort through a lot of cards and other stuff he has saved over the years to decide what he wants to keep for his new scrapbooks.

I am hoping next week when Dad goes to Dollar Tree they have puzzles. I'm glad some of you are able to puzzle right now especially in the snowy weather, that's a good inside thing to do!

Hugs, Apirateslifeforme and continued prayers always!

I'm glad you have power as well, Sweetpeama.

Thursday extra gratitude: nice emails and pm's along with warmer weather even inside this apartment.

 

[Snowysmom]

It stared snowing here around 4:00 pm. It is supposed to snow for 36 hours but mostly light snow with occasional moderate snow, up to 3-6 inches.

I spent most of the day trying to get a covid vaccine appt. The website crashed before 8:00 when the appointments were supposed to be released. It didn't come back for hours. When it did there were very few sites that had vaccine and the main one, Gillette Stadium, keep crashing and then I would get just so far through the process and it would kick me out. No more slots now. It was absolutely abysmal. There has to be a better way. The governor is under alot of criticism once again. @Pea-n-Me It may be awhile before your DH gets to sign up. I think they need to space out the timing and change our group to ending in April. It is going to take at least that long to get everyone vaccinated who wants it in the 65+ group. I hope once J&J comes out with their vaccine it will speed things up. Unfortunately they do not have enough produced yet. But, anything will help. I may try again later tonight. They did not release all the doses that I can see anyway. Maybe they are doing it piece meal. I tried looking at the pharmacies and none of those have any availability. In fact, I have never seen any appointments available. It makes me wonder. I have to develop that attitude that they say there will be plenty of vaccine by the summer so maybe I can get it then.

When I was growing up we didn't really observe Lent. We learned about it in Sunday school but we did not give up anything or give up meat on Friday. I grew up Northern Baptist. Alot of families in my neighborhood observed Lent and the kids would always say what they gave up. Candy was probably the top choice. Friday was fish day and everyone's house would smell like fish.

Happy Thursday.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Getting heavy snow here now. Nasty commute. Stay safe, everyone!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Brrr....I feel so bad for all you with your wintery weather. Today is 55, tomorrow will be 70 and then Sat back to 59....so strange. At least its not super windy like it has been, there's a questionable tree in my parents backyard I need to get taken down soon.

Hubby is on his way home from San Francisco....should be here in a few hours, can't wait, I miss him.

I got some of my room done yesterday, cleared off my dresser, cleaned up the drawers and did some laundry. Not as much as I wanted to get done but its a start.

We don't do anything for Lent. I don't want to say we aren't religious because we do believe but we just don't go to church.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time getting an appointment, Snowysmom. I read earlier that thousands of appointments for tomorrow are being cancelled here due to shortage. No news yet on Saturday which is when Dad is scheduled.

Hug, Pea, you please stay safe and take care.

AuntieMe3, I am looking forward to a little warmer weather for a day or so anyway. Glad your DH is coming home tonight. Indeed you got started. Pre plague I had begun helping an elderly friend go through/organize stuff and I would try to keep reminding her she did not have to do everything, every room, all at one time! Same to you, my friend, take it step by step and as you progress, hopefully that will make the job easier

Hugs to all for a good evening.

 

[sweetpeama]

Wednesday's adventure continued.
16 year old and I headed into pick up our order at Michael's where we saw some yellow signs of 2 of the curbside spots but not on the other 2. I honestly thought it was stating that their alert system did not always notify them so if they were not out in 5 minutes to call the store at the number on the sign. I also thought that the signs had blown off the other 2 spots. We waited a while then I tried to call pressing the number to talk with an employee. It rang and then disconnected. Someone else pulled up in the spot behind me which also didn't have a sign. 16 year old tried calling on her phone but had hers on speaker and same thing disconect after ringing for a while once pressing to speak to somone at the store. 16 year old decided to just go inside and get our order at which point the person behind me decided to do the same thing. 16 year old got to the door to learn that they were closed for cleaning. OK get the order another day this week when I was in town anyways.
We went to Albertson's where I thought that we both would be going in. I was going to be prepared to wear a mask if the store required it. (We no longer have a mask mandate here but even though I have passed out and come close to hitting the floor had either DH or 16 year old not caught me and helped me to a chair I still wear one if it is required by the business but restrict myself to places where I can use a store provided cart to drive around and shop in the store. Due to the snow and ice in the parking lot I was going to need 16 year old to help me walk to the entrance of the store so I didn't land on my hind end. 16 year old convienced me to let her go in the store with my debit card and the pin code to do the shopping. Other than she didn't follow the direction to call me when she got to some of the frozen items and the salads to tell me what there was in stock she didn't do too bad. I would have liked at least one salsbury steak and a chicken pot pie instead of 2 turkey dinners and 2 mac and cheese meals and I normally do some different salads than the chopped ones but those are good too. She only went a little bit over the budgeted amount I had given her but I gave her a number that we still had room in the budget for some wiggle room so we were ok with her going a bit over.
We stopped by wendy's to get some food where I forgot to order my grilled chicken sandwich with no tomato so I ended up just eatting the fries and having the tropical berry lemonaid. good thing I had also ordered a junior bacon cheeseburger that I remember to order with no tomato and added pickles and onions. DH enjoyed the grilled chicken sandwhich though so it didn't go to waste. The plan was to stop by an elderly relative's to see if they wanted to purchase some 4-H fruit but 16 year old told me she was getting tired. I was willing to take her today but she was not interested.
16 year old and I got home to find that my dad was in the skid steer clearing the private road. He did have a small berm across the drive so I did have to gun it a bit and keep running along the section from just past my brother's house to my parking spot so I didn't end up stuck even with being in 4 wheel drive. 16 year old thought that was fun. I did ask DH if he had called my dad or if my dad had seen that I had gotten stuck looking out a back window of his house and just came over. DH said he had called my dad asking S if he could borrow the skiddee (what we call the skid steer most of the time) as he had gotten his car to finally start (it warmed up enough that his car would start) but got stuck trying to back it out of the parking spot it was in since before we got our snow. My dad told him that he would come over and clear the road in front of our place. Dad also told DH that he had not finished doing a clearing with the blade behind the tractor because they hydrolics had gone out and he could not lift the blade up in areas where he needed to. Since we have been able to get out with the 4 wheel drive he didn't worry too much about us so they only cleared to brother's place so niece could get her car in and out and to my parents house so my mom could get her van in and out and to my sister's so she could get her car out. Brother and Sister in law both have a 4 wheel drive and Dad has a 4 wheel drive truck so technically he could and does when the roads are bad drive Mom around to where she needs to go so mainly it was niece getting to school and sister getting to work that he was keeping open. We still have quite a bit more snow in front of our place than from my brother's past to the main road but my dad also knows that DH is comfortable enough with gunning the car and going at a run between our parking area and my brother's to get in and out if he has to take the car because I need the truck. With the truck we can just put it in 4 wheel drive and put it back into 2 wheel drive before pulling onto the main road if we start to get stuck.

Today I left the house shortly before 2 in order to stop by my parent's house and get the check from my mom to cover my aunt's fruit. Due to the snow and that the roads in my aunt's neighborhood are not plowed and she is living with my cousin in a very hilly area (cousin has forbidden her from going out right now) she has not been able to bring a check out to my parents place for her fruit order. I was going to cover it myself but my mom said she would. I had called Michael's this morning to see if they are open before going another 3 miles round trip beyond where I also needed to go today. They were open. After picking up the check which I didn't even need to go all the way into the house as my dad met me outside soon after I got out of the truck.
I picked up my michael's order and then went to meet the sister of the person who is in charge of the fruit sale for the club. Since I was running about 15 minutes early I decided to go and get some food at Subway which was in the same area we were meeting (nice small parking lot with about 5 stores including Subway and a really cool store called Candy Town where you can get the best fudge, lots of old fashioned candies, individual colors of m and m's and every flavor of jellly belly they make. 16 year old had asked for a sandwich from Subway since I was going to be in the area anyways. I got meals for all of us to enjoy though DH took his with him to work. (I knew he would but that way he had a treat for him). I got the girls fruit sale money turned in. They both sold 6 boxes each this year which considering we just contacted mainly close friends and famlly along with the coach and other family currently attending homeschool bowling league and did not go out to different businesses like we normally do especially for 16 year old. 13 year old picked a flashlight for her prize and 16 year old picked a yo-yo for her prize. In the prize group they qualified for they could have picked playing cards, a plastic water bottle, a small domino set and a flying dog disk as well.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning everyone. We had another inch of snow overnite, and must have had a bit of freezing rain as the salt/sand truck was going down the road very slowly earlier. I shoveled the snow with no problems, and no sliding around, so it must have just been the main road that got iced.

Sister in law got a call yesterday saying she was scheduled for her covid vaccine on Feb 26 at their local fire station (she lives in WV), so at least some states are moving forward.

I just checked the 10 day weather and it says by Wednesday we will bee 53,,so hurray..Spring is getting here, lol!

Have a nice morning !!!

 

[sparkle78]

QOTD: Favorite Beach Memory

i figured since many of us have lots and lots and lots of snow around, we could think of warmer weather. the first time I went to the beach , I was 8 years old and it was Ocean City, MD. About an 8 hour drive from where i grew up. My dad’s brothers and sisters had rented 2 condos. So what i remember is really getting to see my cousins who lived in Chicago and Pittsburgh. one night, the boys were putting mouse in their hair, so my sister and i decided we needed to spike our hair up to. we girls, had earlier painted our fingernails and toenails, so the boys decided to do the same. Then we made our 14 year old cousin, take all of us for a walk on the beach to show off our Dos.