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

[PollyannaMom]

 

[footballmouse]

Congratulations!!!! Love the name!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Congratulations on the new little bundle of joy!

Waving hello to everyone!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Great cheerful graphic, PollyannaMom

back Pea!

Sweet dreams everyone!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Beautiful baby. Congratulations.

 

[Kirby]

Congratulations Judique!

 

[frog3101]

Good evening to all Quackers. I have tried to keep up, but honestly the thread has gotten away from me a bit.

@Judique CONGRATS on the arrival of little Miss Quinn! Enjoy all the wonderful things that being a grandmother entails. (I'm not one myself...hopefully not for awhile down the road) but hear that it's the best.

@Snowysmom I'm sorry to hear about Joe. He was for fortunate to have you and your sons helping him. I'm glad you were able to get all the arrangements made before he passed. I am very sorry to hear about your son. It sounds like they are being civil, which is a blessing. I'm not sure how old your grandkids are, but even if it is a "smooth" divorce please hold them extra tight, they will still need it. Having grandma as a "safe place" will be one of the biggest gifts you can give them.

@tazdev3225 Prayers that your "daughter from another mother" husband is doing ok and on the road to recovery, even if it's a slow/long road, as long as he's moving forward that is a blessing.

@Canadisney Fly My oldest will be driving with her permit soon. It's hard to believe, time really flies. She has already done the practice tests many times so I'm pretty confident she will pass the written part of the exam. Then I have to get her a time reserved to go get her actual permit. She is a good driver and a major rule follower so I'm not worried about her driving, but def. worry about the other "crazy drivers" out there.

I don't have much to report. I'm thankful that I have my kids this weekend and they won't see their dad until Wednesday. I know that sounds horrible, but we need time to actually get into a routine now that school has started. The kids are wiped out and just need time to adjust to school and how things really are going to be as far as a schedule with me and their dad. He's still being a jerk to me most of the time, but thankfully (knock on wood) the communication has gotten less and usually only involves the kids. I'm not holding my breath that will last as we are starting negotiations for assets and such and I know he's going to be horse's behind about all of it. He's so angry that I am entitled to half of everything because he thinks I deserve none of it since I "did nothing" for him our entire marriage. So, I'm sure he will drag his rear and make it as difficult as he can. I'm not sure why either, I'd think he'd like to hurry up and be rid of me (as much as he can be while still having the kids to communicate about) so he and the girlfriend can really move on and get hitched if they want. I'm really missing him tonight and have for the last few days. I'm not sure why, the waves of emotion just come out of nowhere and the triggers are so random. I know I miss the him that once was, not the him he is now, but it still stinks. Emotions stink, but I am a firm believer of living in your emotions and expressing them instead of bottling them up or pretending to feel something other than what you really are feeling. That to me just leads to more sadness/anger/depression. I also know it's not healthy to dwell on the emotions forever, but it is important to express them and acknowledge how you are really feeling. Ok, stepping down from my little soapbox regarding emotions and the importance they play in mental health.

Our football team has an away game tomorrow night. It is an hour and 40 minutes away. Crazy how far we have to drive for games. We played a team last week and drove almost 3 hours for that. The other team drove about 2 and we met in the middle...well not really the middle but at least nobody drove 5 hours. My daughter is a football manager so she will be going for sure. My oldest son is also going to ride along with neighbors of ours who have a son on the team. I'd actually like to go, but def. don't think my younger two would be up for that drive, esp. my daughter. So, I'll got to next weeks when the kids are at their dads...that game will only be just over an hours drive. It also happens to be on my oldest birthday, so I want to go and support her for sure and maybe take some treats for her to share with the team. We shall see. I'm still taking things about a 1/2 day at a time.

I started my new job on Monday. I think it will be just what I need for this school year. It's nothing crazy and the work is not hard, so that is a plus. The time also goes pretty fast, so I do like that. It is nice to get out for a bit and I think I'm going to join a gyn or rec type center so I can go in and walk or do an elliptical before or after work. I tend to do much better with exercise/working out when I'm paying money to a place and don't want to feel like I'm just tossing money out the door by not going.

Sending hugs to all who need them. I am glad to read some happy news on the thread. I feel we all deserve some happy news.

Sleep well everyone.

 

[Snowysmom]

@frog3101 It will be good for everyone to get into the school year routine. It is nice that you like your job and you can ease into it. I do agree with you about emotions. You need to feel what you feel at the time and not hide them. That only makes it worse. I can be OK one minute and the next be so heartbroken I cry my eyes out. I just go with it. You are a strong, smart lady. I have not gone through what you are going through but I think missing the husband that he was as opposed to what he became is normal. My DS has the kids who are 4 and 5 1/2 as his priority. Interestingly I think his soon to be ex may be an issue with the financial aspects. Our state has some regulations that basically give couples little leeway in many areas of the financial breakdown. DS talked with me for a while the other night just to get things off his mind. He needed it so I listened. I told DS I will help wherever I can. We are all going to Southwick's on Monday so it will be a nice time with DS and the DGSs.

Quinn Amelia is such a lovely name. Congrats again Judique. I just noticed the ducks when I looked again. So cute and appropriate!

I am off work today. Younger DS and I will be off to the nursing home to see Joe's sister. Then he has to work and I have lunch with a friend. Last night I was trying to sleep and my mind just kept going and going. I thought that we need to go to the hospice and clean out Joe's room. I totally forgot about it this week. Time to talk with DSs to see when we can do that. Then we have September to clean out his apartment.

Have a nice day.

 

[footballmouse]

Happy Friday!

Not sure why I'm excited for it to be Friday, I work night shift this weekend, which equals no sleep. Ds1 is moving his stuff out of the storage shed so I'll help with that Sunday afternoon. It needs to be cleared out by Wednesday.

Not sure what is going on with my sleep lately. I was so tired last night I went to bed a little after 8:00 thinking I would just watch the baseball game. Well I fell asleep and woke up around midnight. Finally went back to bed at 2:30 and slept until 6:00, luckily I'm working from home today. I just don't know why I'm so tired by 8:00 this past week.

I've had a splitting headache since yesterday morning. I took some aspirin but it didn't help. I'm wondering if it's a caffeine headache since I haven't had a Coke in a few days. I just ran up the street to get a breakfast sandwich and a Coke so we'll see if that works.

Got the grass cut yesterday, couldn't believe how it grew so much in a week. We didn't really have much rain throughout the week. It's supposed to rain later today so I told the dogs I would take them for a quick walk this morning before it got too hot.

Have a great day!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Nothing going on here yet. I made DH breakfast and a packed lunch before he left for work, but since then I've been "trapped" on the couch under a comfy cat. - Now that it's getting colder at night, the grass is wet in the mornings and they're not as eager to get out so early.

I'm watching the kids at 10:00, and then helping DS get more of his college stuff together. The pile in the living room is growing!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Outside now. Got a neat hummingbird pic just a minute ago:

 

[PollyannaMom]

(Duplicate post)

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning all! Another hot one coming up, but we had some rain last night that at least watered everything. It was so foggy this morning you couldn't see across the street
@PollyannaMom I remember those days of getting both of my sons ready for college. That pile will keep growing and growing. We lived in MA and the oldest went to Rensselaer Polytech in Syracuse, and we had to borrow a truck to bring everything. It was just too far to keep driving every weekend. The younger one went to Berklee School of Music in Boston, and that was at least a shorter drive, but still make several trips setting it all up.
@footballmouse --hope your headache goes away. Coke usually helps mine, so hope it helps you
@Snowysmom -I hope the nursing home visit goes better than expected. At least you will know you tried. Joe is at peace now, the cleaning out of his place can wait a little longer.

Step daughter called last night after her appt. They found even more things wrong with her. She has an enlarged spleen, kidney, and liver, none of which she expected. They are doing more tests to try and find out the underlying cause

I have to call the handyman today. He hasn't come back to finish the trim on the front door. I don't know if he's going to have time to do the gutters or not. If he had called them 2 weeks ago, when he started the doors, we would have them sitting here waiting to be installed. If he doesn't get them up, we will just have to call the gutter company and have them installed. They charge so much more for labor than he does though!

Have a nice day all,,hugs to those who need them (especially @frog3101 )

 

[PollyannaMom]

Sorry to hear about your stepdaughter, @lynxstch - I hope they figure it out and can help!

 

[Kirby]

@frog3101 , so good to hear from you! I know what you mean about the distance you have to go for football games. Both of my kids were in band and they went wherever the football team went. Fortunately we didn't have long drives every week.

 

[Snowysmom]

@lynxstch Sorry to hear about your stepdaughter. Hopefully they can figure out what is going on.

Visit with Joe's sister actually went fairly well. She is very conversational and happy. She was glad to see us and remembered us once we told her who we are and who we are connected to. She remembered Joe was ill so we told her he passed. She was sad. I did tell her I envision Joe with your mother and father and having a family reunion with all the relatives. She laughed and said Grandpa will be swearing in Italian as he always did. She does not like to be around alot of people so once we knew that we figured the wake was not the place for her. We are going to visit her and take up where Joe left off. I brought her chocolate and puzzle books. It made her happy so that was nice. She is forgetful but not quite as bad as I thought so that was good. And she is very mobile with using a walker but she doesn't lean heavily on it, it is more for support.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Huge Frog and thank you always for trusting in us to share and let us, I pray, be of kind support to you. You are a strong and wise woman. Allow yourself to release your emotions. Keeping stuff bottled up only allows it to fester and grow, keep us further from truly being happy and of healthy spirit that God has graced us with. Give it to Him, my friend and be free. Know you did nothing wrong. I read just a little while ago from the Gospel of John two passages of Scripture of extra assurance of the peace of Christ that He freely gives to us all. Verses 14:27 and 16:33. Know always, all of us, your Quacker family, care too!

Dear Kirby and Snowysmom, extra to both of you, I say the same as I did to Frog.

you feel better quick, Footballmouse!

What a great picture , PollyannaMom! I love how the bird is casting its eye heavenward. You take such lovely photos, thank you, my friend and always for all the loving care you give to the kids! Much for a wonderful and healthy school year to come for your son!

Just Lynn. How is Mr. L feeling this morning? I sure hope better!

All is quiet on the CA front right now. Dad is off doing his usual Friday morning chores (laundry followed by Ralph's). What JOY it will bring me to one day, in God's time get to accompany him!

Wishing all of dear you Friday joy! I will check back later. ETA: Just saw your update Snowysmom . I am truly thankful your visit went well. Thank you for making such a kind difference to Joe's sister.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The first thing that comes out at me with enlargement of those organs is a tick bite, because that’s what happened to DS at one time, scary how sick he was from it. And it wasn’t Lyme, either, it was something called Anaplasmosis. People really should use a good bug spray like Off for ticks when outside, and checking to make sure there aren’t any on them when they come inside. Sounds like it might be a tricky case to diagnose, whatever it is, Lynn. Hope she can get some answers.

@footballmouse You have described the sleep from shift work pretty well, lol. It can hit days later and it can also come and go, with some weeks beautiful and others whacked out. Watching people who work a set schedule I am always amazed at how regular their body clocks seem to be. Even if it’s just once in a while, staying up all night messes with your circadian rhythm. I also had a bad headache several days ago that I couldn’t shake and had to take some Motrin for it for a couple of days. Weird.

@FROG I agree, it’s good to be in touch with your feelings and work them through. Despite your deep anger at your soon to be ex, you are still grieving the loss of that relationship that you once had, so it makes sense you would at times miss that with him. Ugh. I feel like it would be very hard to trust someone after that, and that would make me even more angry, besides what he’s doing to the kids. He’s left a wake of disaster thanks to his little stunt.

@Snowysmom I would be surprised if the hospice room itself has anything of his left in it. They’ve likely moved his things out so someone else could take the room. You could call to ask what the procedure is. DD was telling me last week she admitted a patient at 4am. The patient commented they’d been waiting for a room all day, then added something to the effect of “someone must’ve died in here”. I forget exactly what she said in response, but it was good, and soothing, without admitting it was true. She also had a family member in a different situation say something pretty hurtful to her, but she handled it well, and we talked it out later on. On the other hand, a patient’s family brought us in food the other day and it was really nice. So you learn to take the good with the bad. (Just saw your above post, glad it went well with Joe’s sister. So nice you’re going to keep seeing her!)

I’ve been busy. Had some estate headaches this week. Law firm made a mistake and caused me extra work. At least we’re on the home stretch. I have just one more task I have to get done. Starting a work stretch, may not be able to post much for a while.

Wanted to mention we made some interesting burgers, DS had had one so we borrowed the idea. We all liked them. They were turkey burgers (with hamburger seasoning, shredded cheddar cheese and onion) with Greek salad (with Greek dressing) on top and tzatziki sauce (creamy garlic, lemon and cucumber dressing) on the bun. We argued a little about whether the Greek salad should have dressing on it so some of us put it on, and some didn’t. I did, because to me, the dressing makes the salad. But anyway, something different to try, maybe. (PS Made my life easy and got the Greek salad ready to eat at Trader Joe’s.)

I hope our friends who traveled had a great time, looking forward to hearing about their trips!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

So good to see you, Pea Wishing you extra with a busier work schedule ahead. Forever, thank you with all my heart for the kind, faithful, loving care you provide to so very many. Please remember to take care of yourself, as well!

I meant to ask earlier as I know some of you are tech knowledgeable, certainly more than I am! We have a Smart TV. How could dad and I watch a DVR-ed recording or even a DVD (should we ever get a DVD player) together at different sound levels?

God has graced me extra with excellent hearing even as I get older. Dad, I know, would better enjoy some programs we watch together at a louder volume. I am not able to wear headphones due to TMJ issues so that would not be an option for me. We have external speakers on the .When I watch worship or anything else on the computer, I turn them on, unplug, dad's headphones, and listen directly from the computer. Dad uses his headphones especially later at night when he watches live TV or a movie.

Dad has been wanting for years some type of headphones that could plug into the anyway. He/We just never had a Smart Tv to make that easier before. I would appreciate any suggestions. Would love to be able to surprise him maybe for Christmas or even before then with that could do this. I can also ask our cousin Steve who is very tech savvy. Wanted to check with my Quacker family for ideas first. all!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

@flyingdumbo127 I would suggest Bluetooth headphones for your Dad. That way he can connect to any device he wants to wirelessly. I have a pair of JBL Bluetooth headphones and I love them. I keep them on a hook by my bed, near my chargers, as they have to be charged. (But you get I think 20 hrs per full charge.) I connect to my iPad or the TV or my phone if DH is sleeping or someone is studying in another room, etc. They come in different price levels,. If you’re going to make it a big gift I would suggest watching the prices on Amazon, as they can fluctuate. (Put them in your cart and “Save for Later”. You could also check somewhere like EBay.)

The ones I bought were a little pricier but I couldn’t believe how good the sound was. I wound up getting the kids a pair for their birthdays. (Funny story, on two occasions since Covid I brought them in to work to let patients use them who were there for a while and I knew loved music. I saw one of those patients again recently and as soon as I walked in the room, he reached down into his drawer with a huge smile on his face and pulled out his own headphones he’d bought after I’d lent him mine! Same exact ones, lol. He used to walk the halls with them on as much as he could when he was quite ill, so it was nice to see him well and smiling.) (Sadly, I saw that the other patient - a musician himself - had passed, but was glad I was able to bring some joy to him with that small gesture in what turned out to be some of his final days. Sorry, don’t mean to be a bummer today! It just happens to be my life in working with patients!)

I see you have speakers with your TV. I was going to suggest that if you didn’t have it. I have trouble hearing our main TV, too, it’s always the running joke when we watch something as a family that the TV itself has to be turned almost all the way up for me, and then our external speaker has to be set for loud, too. (And sometimes I put the Closed Captioning on, but that’s mainly for accents I can’t decipher, lol.) Fortunately I don’t watch TV too often! The TV I use mostly myself I’m fine with and the bedroom TV I can hear ok even though it’s across the room. So it may just be that certain TVs have a lower volume, idk. All of our TVs are Smart TVs, I‘m pretty sure. Not sure that makes a difference. We do also have DVD players with two of our TVs but we don’t use them too much. Honestly most of the time we watch something outside of the normal TV shows it’s usually on a phone or iPad connected to the TV with a cord, I forget what it’s called. (? Aux cord.) I don’t really know much about it but the rest of the people who live here do.

Not sure that helped but if you have more specific ?s you could PM me and I could ask the others who know how these things work. And hopefully others respond, too.