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

[Judique]

Happy Tuesday, friends

God Bless Baby A, AuntieMe3! What a blessing to get to visit with her two days in a row. So grateful you had a relaxing Monday heat notwithstanding!

For those of you like AuntieMe3 and I, dealing with constant excessive heat are you finding, have you in the past experienced s dryer throat as a result of running the air conditioning excessively? First of all, let me say, I am blessed to not have any true allergies. This apartment though is small and not well ventilated. Over the weekend and even before then, dad and I have had our AC on almost consistently. A ton more often and for longer periods than I can ever remember! I’ve noticed that my poor throat has begun to truly dry out. YEARS ago, we did very briefly (as in a day or two) try a dehumidifying machine when I had a persistent cough (that was sure not a fun time) It didn’t do anything for me, so we returned it. Wondering if having something like that on hand for this time of year might be helpful now. Of course, for free, I can simply have more throat coating things such as applesauce or soup What do you all of you think? I’d appreciate it. LOL, as a reminder I already drink water like a whale! As you know I also am literally home almost 24/7 thus in the same small space with very poor ventilation. Zero complaints ever just wondering. Thank you all

PollyannaMom. I understand how a shift in weather can sometimes make any of us feel off. Have a brighter day, my friend. Prayers the twins have a fun first day of second grade and that all of you do enjoy some this afternoon. I once saw some HGTV show that took place in Finger Lakes, so beautiful!

Praise, praise God, dear Lynn. Huge hug to you, my friend, as well! Hooray! What a great doctor update. for Mr. L to be feeling okay! I’m also sorry about the arbor. Very grateful it did no damage! Not a grape fan. I did come to like (for the reason I drank it rather than its taste) the nonalcoholic grape juice used for Holy Communion every Sunday.

Hug, Judique. I hope you do get to visit a grape harvest again perhaps during a Fall Harvest event somewhere scenic. I don’t drink at all, ever. Dad and I along with friends and I during my college days used to drive (or fly) from way Northern, CA to SF/or Sacramento and then onto LA. Never stopped in Napa Valley but definitely am familiar with it. IIRC there was a movie (probably a Hallmark movie lol) once that featured a bed and breakfast in a vineyard? Perhaps you could look into that sort of trip?

Dad is followed by the post office and Ralph's. Thursday is my dentist appointment (cleaning). I'd appreciate, as always, prayer that it goes safely and quickly!

Love to all and I'll check back later.

My AC is on from spring to winter. It's set at 74 degrees. Many people tolerate higher temps such as 78 but my upstairs where DD works several days a week is not served as efficiently as the main floor. Since I have a basement and we live in a usually very humid area, I have a dehumidifier on constantly in my basement. Recently had to fix my dehumidifier - the drain was clogged and I was emptying the bucket until I found the simple problem. I can tell when it is not working within a short time of it stopping because it quickly gets humid here.

I'm not sure what type of AC system you use so not really able to comment, but it seems to matter little if you keep it going or turn it off, as to cost. It may matter when there are energy peaks to your electricity supplier, many of whom will offer a pittance to get you to use less and be hot part of the day.

One thing you could check or have checked are filters on the unit that services you. Are they changed by management regularly? A decent unit should be circulating clean and cooled air. With a properly working system your ventilation should be ok as the hot air inside is exchanged, filtered and cooled as it comes to you. An air conditioner is in fact also a way to dehumidify.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

@flyingdumbo127 An AC unit is, essentially, a dehumidifier, so one of the ways it cools is by taking some of the humidity out of the air. I probably wouldn’t want to add a humidifier because it would make the AC less efficient. For many times it might not matter as much, but in the heat you’re having now, you want your AC to work at peak efficiency. We bought a thing for DS for his sinuses. It’s a small humidifier you put your face into to steam. I will include a link for it if you want to try to pick one up. If you can’t buy one right now, a warm shower can do the same thing. It’s temporary, but can help. Be careful about using products like mouthwash with alcohol, too, as it’s drying. Try Tom’s of Maine or one of the others that specifically says “not drying”. Be careful about candy to moisten your mouth and throat as too much can cause cavities, especially when dry. You could freeze some grapes or watermelon chunks to enjoy when you’re dry. My patients have this problem from diuretics, so this is the same advice I give to them, too!

https://www.amazon.com/Vicks-Personal-V1200-Targeted-Congestion/dp/B0000TN7MY

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Speaking of the heat in CA, I saw this story about bringing ice to the animal shelters. Very nice of those people to do!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...og-shelters-heatwave-blankets-California.html

 

[flyingdumbo127]

both Judique and Pea so much. Pea, I love the story! Thank you so much for sharing with us. God Bless all of those people and animals, too!

We just have the wall unit AC's that we were forced to buy in May of 2020. Remember that? Blessing to have them and they do work well. Sadly, nothing about this unit is maintained by management We do have a wonderful property manager person who tries. However, there is only so much she can do when the owner refuses. The new ACs do have a "check filter" light which haven't come on yet. We do clean them regularly and probably should look at again after having this one on so long. I attached three pictures to give all of you an idea of AC location in comparison to the floor. The third picture will just show you that the living room AC is not far from the couch.

All is warm and well around here. So thankful indeed! Afternoon hug to all

 

[Kirby]

Mona, our dryness issues usually occur in the winter but with our sinuses. Running the heater always dries DH out and me for the first time this last year. So far the A/C hasn't bothered us. Hope you get it figured out.

I saw last night, to my delight, that Call The Midwife has a new season up on Netflix. I love that show!

Today was Lou Lou's first day of Preschool. She was up early, very independent today. Said she had a good first day.

 

[AuntieMe3]

Same as Kirby, we dry out here in the winter with the heater. I've never had this problem with the AC. I hope you can figure out why it's happening and you feel better, Mona.

I saw last night, to my delight, that Call The Midwife has a new season up on Netflix. I love that show!

Yay....that's for sharing. I love that show too. Glad LouLou had a good first day of preschool.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good evening.

I also dry out with the winter heat. It is usually humid here in the mid-Atlantic. When we were in Arizona several years ago, it was so dry I couldn't breath. I ended up getting saline nasal spray and lubricating eye drops to survive the arid air.

Today was chores and housecleaning. Tomorrow Tessa is here.

Rainy today and much cooler. Good night all.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thank you, extra hugs, to AuntieMe3, Carol and Kirby. I know years ago when I had a small bedroom table-top fan, it never was a good idea to have it on too close to me at least for longer. Dad is the same way. Very thankful none of you so far have this AC issue. I'm, of course, sorry you do with your furnaces. That is now a blessing about not having a safe heater. Perhaps that's why it's the AC for me. I (think) it's a similar principle as both can dry the air out more?

I Googled and found this: "During the air conditioning process, moisture is removed from the air. As this takes place in a closed room, the room can become excessively dry. As a result, you may experience issues, like: Dryness of your throat and mouth." It further says to hydrate more take a throat lozenge (I may try a Werther's for better taste. Both 99 and Dollar Tree sell a small bag), or open a window to allow some outside air in. We could, at least overnight, open the living room window a bit--it has a safety lock in place at a certain point to where it can't be opened. Plus, it is screened). I have been enjoying extra chicken broth and sauce. Over the weekend, at least on Saturday, it is supposed to cool down and possibly even storm. I hope that is true where you are AuntieMe3. I feel badly knowing it's always hotter where you live. Extra grateful you do enjoy

for Lou Lou, Kirby! I'm so happy for her! She truly needs, as does Lil Joe (how is he doing)? a ton of happier times!

Very happy to hear it's cooler for you, dear Carol! Enjoy Tessa time tomorrow Yikes, and a I'm so sorry to hear that about your experience in Arizona. Dad does use lubricating eye drops here as needed.

Love to all and wishes for a good night's rest as well.

 

[Snowysmom]

Good Morning. Wow miss a day and the posts are crazy busy. Thoughts and prayers to all in need. Hoping for cooler weather for all in the heat.

Cool day here after 2 days of rain. Did my morning walk and now off to work.

Have a good day.

 

[tazdev3225]

Good morning.

My husband's birthday is today so we are off to Lancaster and Shady Maple for his free breakfast. Then a little time in the outlets.

I know some of you use Amazon. Have you ever had an issue where you order something that is shipped in 2 boxes and only one gets delivered? My credenza came last night, or I should say HALF of my credenza was delivered last night. I did contact Amazon but there wasn't much they could do because it was delivered at 8 PM and UPS was closed. There is no tracking number for the other box, I'm not sure there should have been, so I can't find anything on the UPS website with my tracking number because of course they think it was delivered. I'm going to try and contact Amazon while we are away and hope they can do something. It's very frustrating right now because I'm not even sure I can return half a shipment since the label clearly shows 2 boxes in the order.

We had a heavy rain yesterday. Crystal started classes and seemed very happy when I picked her up. My Mikey however did not have a great day. He overslept so his mom couldn't drop him off at the bus stop. His dad yelled at him for being late again, I do blame my SIL and daughter because they never tried to get him into a routine before school started to prepare him for early mornings. Mikey is not a morning person. Anyway, my SIL told him since he missed the bus again he can walk to school. Now to be fair my SIL is no longer able to drive due a series of strokes. Mikey however takes things literally, he is autistic, so he started to walk to school. It's a 5-mile hike, in a HEAVY downpour. My daughter at this point calls me and asks me to go find him. Super Grandmom to the rescue I go after him. Thankfully she has an app on her phone that allows her to check where the kids are located, so she was able to give me a general location. By the time I found him he had walked a bit over 3 miles and looked like a drowned rat. He was dripping and his fingers looked like he had been soaking in a tub for an hour they were so wrinkled. I took him home because he could not go to school in that condition. My SIL was not happy, and I didn't care. I got a series of texts from Crystal later that night, that Mikey's school issued chrome book was in his backpack and it is working but the screen is messed up from the rain. My daughter can deal with that. I am hoping when it dries out things will work. At least it wasn't the black screen of death.

My husband is down so we can hopefully get on the road soon. If I don't leave by 7:45 I miss breakfast because of traffic. Hope you all have a great day.

 

[Judique]

Good morning.

My husband's birthday is today so we are off to Lancaster and Shady Maple for his free breakfast. Then a little time in the outlets.

I know some of you use Amazon. Have you ever had an issue where you order something that is shipped in 2 boxes and only one gets delivered? My credenza came last night, or I should say HALF of my credenza was delivered last night. I did contact Amazon but there wasn't much they could do because it was delivered at 8 PM and UPS was closed. There is no tracking number for the other box, I'm not sure there should have been, so I can't find anything on the UPS website with my tracking number because of course they think it was delivered. I'm going to try and contact Amazon while we are away and hope they can do something. It's very frustrating right now because I'm not even sure I can return half a shipment since the label clearly shows 2 boxes in the order.

We had a heavy rain yesterday. Crystal started classes and seemed very happy when I picked her up. My Mikey however did not have a great day. He overslept so his mom couldn't drop him off at the bus stop. His dad yelled at him for being late again, I do blame my SIL and daughter because they never tried to get him into a routine before school started to prepare him for early mornings. Mikey is not a morning person. Anyway, my SIL told him since he missed the bus again he can walk to school. Now to be fair my SIL is no longer able to drive due a series of strokes. Mikey however takes things literally, he is autistic, so he started to walk to school. It's a 5-mile hike, in a HEAVY downpour. My daughter at this point calls me and asks me to go find him. Super Grandmom to the rescue I go after him. Thankfully she has an app on her phone that allows her to check where the kids are located, so she was able to give me a general location. By the time I found him he had walked a bit over 3 miles and looked like a drowned rat. He was dripping and his fingers looked like he had been soaking in a tub for an hour they were so wrinkled. I took him home because he could not go to school in that condition. My SIL was not happy, and I didn't care. I got a series of texts from Crystal later that night, that Mikey's school issued chrome book was in his backpack and it is working but the screen is messed up from the rain. My daughter can deal with that. I am hoping when it dries out things will work. At least it wasn't the black screen of death.

My husband is down so we can hopefully get on the road soon. If I don't leave by 7:45 I miss breakfast because of traffic. Hope you all have a great day.

Happy Birthday to DH! Enjoy your Lancaster visit and Shady Maple.

Yikes on Mikey in the rain!

Amazon package: here they take a photo of the package delivery and email it to me. Do they do that for you? If so, maybe that could be proof that only half your credenza was delivered?

 

[Judique]

And the school fundraisers have started!

Older DD sent the link to younger DD.

It's all popcorn. Least expensive item is $26.

Generally speaking we don't eat popcorn with a few exceptions.

I always want to support the kids and our schools.

Would rather just give some money, maybe $50 and be done with it. Highly unlikely DGD will sell enough to qualify for any prizes or awards anyway.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning all.

@flyingdumbo127 --like a few others, we only have issues with dry air in the wintertime. We run 3 humidiers through out the house to moisten the air

@tazdev3225 -- to only half of your credenza showing up. For that kind of money, Amazon better find the other half and make sure it gets delivered. Yikes to Mikey walking all that distance by himself, and in the rain. Someone better watch what they say if he takes things that literally! And a very happy birthday to your husband. Hope you both have a great day!

@Judique I loathe school fundraisers..yikes..$26 for popcorn? That's nuts!

Its only going to be 71 today, with chance of rain/storms. The handyman never did call me back yesterday, so I guess I will be the one cutting the trim and putting it down. I will have to mail him a check. Am going to give him a week or so to start recuperating and then call and ask for his brothers number. We can hire him to put the gutter filter guard things on

Grocery and errand day today. Have to stop and Kohls and return a defective Amazon movie. We watched Jurassic World Domination, and it kept stopping and reverting to the beginning..very annoying. Amazon already replaced it with a working one, so just have to drop this one off to go back. Then LabCorp so Mr L can get his bloodwork and stuff done for next weeks nephrology appt. Then Aldi and Walmart.

Have a nice day everyone

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good morning.

Tessa is watching tv that her parents don’t like her to watch. Nothing bad but no educational value.

I am going to try to get her to help me make banana bread. And I have a friendship bracelet craft but it might be too advanced.

Dreary and cool out. Not supposed to hit 70 today.

! Were you there for a breakfast reservation?

You asked this a while ago and I quoted but it didn’t show up in quotes until today, it was about picture of me and DH in front of castle we few other people. We did have a breakfast reservation but it was at 9:30 so the park was open. We just got lucky with the picture.

Happy Birthday to DH! Enjoy your Lancaster visit and Shady Maple

I couldn’t say it any better, @tazdev3225 .

Would rather just give some money,

I so agree. When the kids were in little league and we had to sell candy bars, I asked to just pay the amount they made off the candy bras and they could keep the candy. They wouldn’t let me. The neighborhood was full of kids selling the same thing and neither DH or I could sell at work. Could you see me walking into a patient’s home saying “I’m here for your PT treatment. Would you like to buy a candy bar?”

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Morning all!
It's been fairly boring here the last few days; didn't see the sense in typing that daily, so just lurked. Seriously, nothing was going on other than housecleaning, laundry and cooking. I did make a foccacia last night that came out * chefs kiss *....I'll keep that recipe for certain! Had it with spaghetti and meatballs for me; spaghetti, no sauce, with parm for DS; and chicken parm bites with mozz and provolone for DH; and salad for all. For lunch, because DH is working from home today, we'll have our big meal for lunch; I'm making a 'orange cauliflower and broccoli'....like orange chicken, but vegetarian. Salad and leftovers for dinner.

The girls got their packages, and are very happy with their souvenirs...well, at least, with their own...they were all "UGH" when they realized the birds for the boys were whistles and the frogs made frog sounds with the wood sticks...haha!!

I always liked doing the fundraisers as a kid, but as a parent...... We have sold everything from Girl scout cookies to Boy Scout popcorn and mulch, to school wrapping paper and frozen cookie dough...by far, the best fundraiser the school ever picked was the one where they said "you can donate $xxx and we can make fundraisers optional for those who really want to participate"! The PTA made more money on that fundraiser than they did on any others that year!

@tazdev3225 happy bday to your dh!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good morning, friends!

It's a little cooler here so far. I do feel less dry as well. Thank you all much for your extra prayer and concern. Appreciate all of you always! Dad is off trying to find me some shorter pajama pants--nothing. He did get a few things at Target. We did get early morning Sparkletts delivery, which is such a blessing especially in this heat, Felt badly for our regular delivery guy. Sandro is so nice and does such a great job. Waiting for one expected Amazon package. Need to decide whether there is anything else we want to order while we still have the one-week Prime Trial (one more day) and also with Walmart+. That has been wonderful to have had for free for a month.

Snowysmom, have a good day!

to your husband, Taz! How awful for Mikey, poor kid. Thank you, Grandma for intervening. His parents, IMO, should never have allowed him out the door! Enjoy your breakfast (how cool to get a free breakfast meal and shopping. Yikes! I truly hope you get resolution from Amazon! Here, they also take a photo upon delivery.

Judique, I honestly have no true memory school fundraisers. That amount of money for is crazy! Remember my school years were not overall happy. I do remember never been a fan of selling stuff especially door to door as a kid, I was too shy for one. I do have semi good memory of briefly setting up a candy table at an apartment play yard as a kid, ITA that having the option to make a straight donation is much better! Or offer rather than individual prizes one group prize like a field trip or class pizza day or some other type of party as a prize. I also think school admin need to better take into consideration that not all students will be able to join in period. It would be kinder to have some type of fair perhaps where there would be various stands that needed decorations or students to run. Game booths to create or build. There needs to be a way for all, especially young kids to safely and comfortably participate. Just my early morning two cents

for Mr. L, Lynn, how is he feeling? I hope your busy day of shopping goes quickly and smoothly!

Carol, you are a wonderful and loving grandma to all your grandkids! They are blessed indeed to have you and special time to hang out with you as well.

B&B, I'm a no sauce person also. You are sweet to have gotten a variety of souvenirs.

Have a cooler and good Wednesday everyone. I shall come back later. Thinking of you, Frog!

 

[easyas123]

Good afternoon to you all.

For those of you like AuntieMe3 and I, dealing with constant excessive heat are you finding, have you in the past experienced s dryer throat as a result of running the air conditioning excessively?

Like many have already recommended, you want to introduce moisture, not take it away. I use a humidifier in the winter/anytime I have the heat on. I keep one goign in my bedroom, as well as in the sitting room off of the kitchen where we spend the most of our waking inside time. I also keep a cast iron kettle on the wood stove in basement during the weekends we had that burning. Those personal humidifiers such as someone up thread referenced work great, too. When my father was a guest of the Chilean Government in January of 2021 for 2 weeks, it was super dry and he didn't have access to much. I suggested to him that he keep a wet/damp towel hung near his bed at night to help him (he has allergies & asthma), that worked in a pinch.

My husband's birthday is today so we are off to Lancaster and Shady Maple for his free breakfast. Then a little time in the outlets.

I have lost track of how many times we were going to make that same day trip this summer - well not the Shady Maple, we've never been there. But the outlets and breakfast or lunch somewhere. Can't go this or next Saturday due to family b'day obligations. Last Saturday of the month my husband likely has another obligation. We could run up on a Sunday, but that doesn't give us as much time. Hope you have a good time meandering around the outlets!

And the school fundraisers have started

I'm off of that merry-go-round BUT when I see the girl/boy scouts outside of the stores hawking their stuff I will often confirm w/ one of the moms if I can make a donation directly toward their troop and if so, I'll do that.

banana bread

oh! I can't recall the last time I had or made banana bread. I think you may have just helped me to round out part of my weekend menu!

It's been fairly boring here the last few days; didn't see the sense in typing that daily, so just lurked.

Same here, sometimes I don't have anything new to add so I just read.

Gloomy, drizzly day today, which pleases me greatly as our newer planted bushes & trees can really use it. We water fairly often as needed, but a natural slow rain is optimal in my opinion. It rained most of yesterday, too.

I'm off on the road tomorrow, this time up to Conshohoken, PA to a specialty vet, taking the foster pup up there for evaluation. It's a solid hour & a half or 2 hour drive north for me, depending on traffic. That appt. is mid-morning and they told me it would be a 2-3 hour appt., so I'm just hoping to be home at a decent time tomorrow afternoon. Had to wait some time for this appt., so I'm glad it's finally here. I'm hoping they can solve the issue w/ his foot. He is down 25 lbs. already, but can't start aqua therapy until his foot has healed. Next up will be surgery on both (cherry) eyes then hopefully he will be available for adoption. While I don't think he will ever be a svelte pup, I'd like to see him lose another 10 lbs. We've started walking around the farm and he's pretty gung ho about that, so that is good.

Sled dumpster is being delivered tomorrow, soon we start on the barn demo. First up will be throwing away a lot of old crap in the barn and knocking down the milking house. After that it will be piece meal until it's down, then last to come down will be the silo. I'm sure there will be a throw-down amongst the boys as to who gets to push that down! Boys love their heavy equipment toys -

Dinner this evening will be grilled chicken quarters with roasted potatoes, and I'll cut up some carrots to go with it.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Prayers for safe travels, EasyasGlad yourpalnts and other greens are getting Thanks for the explanation to you and everyone else Free extra soup, applesauce, showers, etc. will work fine enough!

Good afternoon to all

 

[lynxstch]

Has rained on and off all day. So hard on the highway you couldn't see where you were going,, and tractor trailer trucks were pulling off to the side of the road and stopping. Got all my errands and groceries done. Prices up again. Dinner is going to be chili for Mr L and chicken wings for me with devilled egg potato salad.
Have a nice evening all

 

[tazdev3225]

Good afternoon.

My husband said to thank you all for the birthday wishes. We did get to Shady Maple for breakfast and then I got a cute Jim Shore Gnome for the bathroom. Went to the New Balance Outlet and got my winter sneakers. I like leather in the winter to keep my toes warm and after a winter of snow and rain they look horrible. I save the previous years pair for the really horrible weather. Stopped in the Disney Outlet and left annoyed. They had a pair of lounge pants I liked. The only problem is my size was $19.95, every other size was $9.95 and they refused to match the price. I was more than a little angry by this and only bought a car for LJ and left.

We were home by 3 PM, when I go with my grandkids we don't even leave Lancaster until that time. It was nice not to be stuck in the rush hour traffic.

The saga of the credenza continues. The second box is supposed to be here by 7 tonight. We shall see.

I decided to go to the Halloween Party in Magic Kingdom during my trip. My "costume" is a Hocus Pocus T-shirt. The Sanderson sisters are flying across the moon. I decided to paint the moon with glow in the dark paint. Silly I know because that paint never "glows" very long but it's fun on some of the rides with a black light type of light.

Dinner is going to be cereal because neither of us is very hungry from breakfast.

Hope you all have a nice night.