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

[flyingdumbo127]

Good Morning Everyone

I'm sorry it's so rainy and cold for many of you. Good day to be cozy and hopefully do something fun and relaxing inside!

Praise God! DaxedX3, I am so happy to read your update thank you for sharing

 

[Shellsbutt]

The UGLY!!!
August 1997 my mom went and we drove. Over 1,000 miles and we stopped at every rest room on the way down. My son got sick at the PA/Delaware border and threw up the entire trip until we hit the border on the way home. He was starting with a severe anxiety disorder that plagued him for years. My mom accused my husband of babying him and the youngest so she spoiled the middle child, her favorite. She still doesn't believe my son has an anxiety disorder. He borders on agoraphobia but thankfully can control it now. I had to play go between with my husband and mom. I needed a vacation from my vacation.

I feel for you and your son, I can relate. I discovered my younger son(he is now 20) has a severe anxiety disorder but it took awhile to figure it out. I thought he suffered from motion sickness, every time we travelled for vacation he would throw up. This started when he was around 8 and we even had to come home and scrap the trips several times because we kept having to pull over for him to be sick. He would be fine back at home. The first time he went to summer camp for Boy Scouts, my husband and I ended up taking him home because he was constantly sick. After that, my husband went along on all boy scout overnights- I'm so glad he did too because he got to experience a lot of adventures like sleepover in Alcatraz and rafting down the Colorado river to name a few.

You have the patience of a saint when it comes to travelling with your family! I've been on a lot of trips with my mom(my dad never wants to go anywhere) and I just can't do it anymore. The last trip was Trafalgar autumn leaves tour in 2017, never again. She isn't bossy or wanting to control everything(that would be my sister), but she has a big passive aggressive streak. She is very sensitive and gets upset easily, you decide you don't want to look into a particular store to shop and would rather wait outside. My mom would sulk and make petty remarks to me or give me the silent treatment. It went on like that for the entire week, nope not going to happen and that's sad. Travel is fun but you really learn about people when you take trips with them. My list of people I will travel with is very small now, lol.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Beautiful and a bit chilly day today. Works for me, I like to walk when there's a bit of nippiness in the air.

We gave DS $300 of the stimulus checks for him to spend on whatever; $300 food and pet good donation to the local food bank/animal shelter; and we each took $600, to spend on whatever. He bought a bass guitar (yes, another...) with it and the extra end of year bonus he got. I bought a bunch of new piano books, some clothes for me (hooray Kohls clearance!), some small muffin tins that will fit in my new Ninja oven, a new color book and markers, some Yankee Candles (hooray clearance sales!) and.....a lot of Amiibo cards for my Animal Crossing game. Don't judge me. I need all their pictures in the game.

Anyways, the candles came in, all except one. They said that one was out of stock (even though it still says for sale on their page); so they are shipping me a replacement candle for that one, and they didn't charge me for it. Also, I discovered one of the candles just had hardly any scent, lit or unlit (and I burned it for 3+ hours); and they are sending me a replacement for that one, at no charge. Excellent CS there...some companies could take a page from their book on how to do things right.

We took a loan from DH's 401K and paid off all the credit cards, except for the furniture one. We now only owe the loan (which the 'interest'...much lower than the credit cards...goes back into the 401K), our car, the ongoing medical bills for DH, the furniture card (will be paid off by December 2021; it's no interest so we aren't rushing to pay it off) and his student loans (which we are trying to get dissolved, as there was a bunch of issues there with the shady technical college signing him up for multiple loans that he didn't need, among other thing). The credit cards have now been removed from all the shopping sites, and are moved to a locked box in the bedroom closet...so now it take effort to purchase something. LOL Gives me time to think, do I really need that? The amount we are paying on the loan is what we were paying IN INTEREST ONLY on the cards, so it's a definite win.

DH got a small bump in pay (3% annual; everyone in the company did) and then they are starting back with regular reviews/raises this year. The company didn't bill out what they had planned to in 2020; but with the savings from not hiring as many new people (planned to hire 500, only hired 200), not paying for people to work out of town, etc....they actually hit their projected profit margin! DH wants interns back though, lol; he hates doing the 'scut work' on his drawings. He says it's a waste of their money, as he bills out between $150 to $300/hour (depending on the work he is doing, and the company it is for); when he's doing 'scut', it's on the lower end, so the company makes less for his time. In other news, I realized someone values my husband's time at $300/hour....and I find that incredibly amusing. (ETA: he doesn't get paid that much; just wanted to clarify that. He's on salary, but the hourly rate comes out to much much less than what he bills.)

 

[lynxstch]

Blasphemy!

LOL My favorite team is the Patriots..since I was born and raised in MA. Now I have to root for the Buccaneers since Brady is playing for them. Ravens aren't a fave for hubby either..his is just the Packers

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hugs, Shelley, I'm so sorry

Good to see you B&B as well. Good for you and your DH for doing some smart financial planning.

 

[easyas123]

We got some much needed good news yesterday. DH pathology results were all negative!! It appears they removed all the cancer
He will get scans every three months to monitor, but, for now I'm taking this as a win. He still has a lot of challenges ahead with his "new Normal" but at least the threat is gone. So blessed,

That is wonderful news!

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Guess it will be laundry and bathroom cleaning, what a fun day, anyone want to join in? LOL!

umm yep, thats what is on my scHedule for the day too , but I’ll treat myself to Panera or Mexican for lunch when i run out to the store.

I LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. All the Disney trip stories. I’ll share a few of my own later today.

I'm doing the towels today (didn't finish them yesterday, but did do all the clothes + bedding, so....); the bathrooms, mopping the kitchen and vacuuming as well. And I'm having Tijuana Flats for lunch, as a reward.

((huggles)) to all who need it

We are all Browns fans in the family today.....at least those of us who are Broncos fans DH usually roots for the Browns, so he's happy.

 

[Shellsbutt]

I'm doing the towels today (didn't finish them yesterday, but did do all the clothes + bedding, so....); the bathrooms, mopping the kitchen and vacuuming as well. And I'm having Tijuana Flats for lunch, as a reward.

((huggles)) to all who need it

We are all Browns fans in the family today.....at least those of us who are Broncos fans DH usually roots for the Browns, so he's happy.

Browns play tomorrow against the Chiefs, right? Boy, they have their work cut out for them there. I'm rooting for them though. I always go for the underdogs. Lifelong Broncos fan, had a poster of John Elway in my bedroom for years, lol.

 

[tazdev3225]

Rained overnight in Cape May, in 40’s now..sun was out for a brief while.

Cape May is on my lists of Places I like to visit. Usually Sunset Beach and the lighthouse. I don't go there as often since my aunt passed away and her housekeeper never told us. Found out by accident on Google of all places. Just can't always let go of my anger towards the housekeeper although I do try. I'm supposed to head down the shore with a friend this week, maybe a drive to Cape May is needed while there.

I feel for you and your son, I can relate. I discovered my younger son(he is now 20) has a severe anxiety disorder but it took awhile to figure it out. I thought he suffered from motion sickness, every time we travelled for vacation he would throw up. This started when he was around 8 and we even had to come home and scrap the trips several times because we kept having to pull over for him to be sick. He would be fine back at home. The first time he went to summer camp for Boy Scouts, my husband and I ended up taking him home because he was constantly sick. After that, my husband went along on all boy scout overnights- I'm so glad he did too because he got to experience a lot of adventures like sleepover in Alcatraz and rafting down the Colorado river to name a few.

You have the patience of a saint when it comes to travelling with your family! I've been on a lot of trips with my mom(my dad never wants to go anywhere) and I just can't do it anymore. The last trip was Trafalgar autumn leaves tour in 2017, never again. She isn't bossy or wanting to control everything(that would be my sister), but she has a big passive aggressive streak. She is very sensitive and gets upset easily, you decide you don't want to look into a particular store to shop and would rather wait outside. My mom would sulk and make petty remarks to me or give me the silent treatment. It went on like that for the entire week, nope not going to happen and that's sad. Travel is fun but you really learn about people when you take trips with them. My list of people I will travel with is very small now, lol.

We thought it was car sickness at first too. He is almost 39 and still has issues with it at times. I get the Boy Scout Camp. He had issues at Summer Camp too. The first time my husband was going to bring home on parents night. We wouldn't let him. I know it might have been the wrong thing to do but we had try some tough love. We had friends that were his leaders and my brother was there so they kept an eye on him and he survived. He even liked it the following year after the first day. He even went on a trip to Niagara Falls and the Football, Baseball and Hockey Hall of Fames. My husband did go on that one as a chaperone, it was so peaceful that week. School was another major issue for him. He would up being home taught by the School District because his anxiety was so bad he couldn't even drive by the school. He would get psoriasis on his scalp so bad that he needed to wear a baseball cap all the time. As soon as summer hit the condition was gone, Labor Day and it was right back. When his oldest son graduated High School it was the 1st time he went to a school in years. We spent a lot of time in therapy with him.

On trips I have learned to try and take a few minutes for just me. I like to get up early and get my coffee and wander around taking pictures or writing down my thoughts. It is my Zen time. I took 2 trips to Scotland with my mom and the last one I really wanted to just leave the tour and go home she was on my last nerve. I love her but she treats me like I am 5. I have to wear the clothes she wants me to wear, no Disney as it isn't appropriate for someone my age??? Then I am not allowed to talk about my grandkids because they have "issues" but she can brag on my 9 year old nephew all day, he is exceptional. I demand the window seat for picture taking. Our last trip in 2018 she wanted the window to take pictures. The conversation went something like this.

Mom: "I have a camera so I want to take pictures."

Me: "Mom that is a PHONE. I am impressed that you have a smart phone, but it is a PHONE!!!"

Mom: "I have a camera" and she pulls out this little pocket camera.

Me: "Mom is that the same memory card from when you went to Yellowstone 15 years ago?"

Mom: "Yes I still have plenty of room on the memory card thing."

Me: "Mom if you want a picture tell me to duck".

I have a good DSLR with a great zoom lens I won. She also makes me go to bed when she does so I don't disturb her. I can live with that, I like to read before bed anyway. The one hotel we stayed at had an incident. There was really LOUD noises. Mom tells me to shut off the TV. It was the Fire Alarm and we were being evacuated. Mom Had to get dressed. We were all yelling at her we had to leave now but mom had to get dressed.

Traveling with her is interesting. Thankfully she has decided she doesn't want to go anymore unless one of my aunt's goes too. I can live with that.


Afternoon All. The sun came out for 5 minutes. I'll live with it.

I checked on the cabinets order for my kitchen and they are due to come in about 3 weeks early. Not great as now I have 2 weeks to get the kitchen cleaned out, the demolition done and the painting and floors down before they are delivered. All when the great grandbaby is due and my contractor is my grandson, the father. They were originally supposed to take enough time that it was just past the due date. I will be busy next week. I still need to get a few things in place but what can I do. I did finally order the appliances and I just need to schedule delivery when I am ready.

My husband had an appointment with his one doctor yesterday and I am not happy. This office put what is called a Loop Recorder in his chest to monitor his heart activity. They were able to identify the cause of his strokes that way. The dr. he had been seeing retired so this is a new doctor. He has decided since he is now under control we can change some of his meds and he can just add a baby aspirin now and in a couple of months he can go off the blood thinner and maybe the beta blocker. I am calling his cardiologist on Monday and getting an appointment ASAP. He is due for a follow-up anyway. The strokes were caused by clots and the Recorder found out that he has Supra Ventricular Tachycardia. A more severe form of AFib. The meds are working and I don't want to go through what we went through when he had the strokes. We were lucky then, next time might not work out as well. I did ask my daughter the nurse and she agreed with me, but did mention they one med may need to be tweaked as it can cause liver damage long term. Getting old stinks.

Well I am headed to the store for coffee creamer and milk. I will lose the TV soon to football anyway.

Have a great Saturday everyone.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Bumping up our thread. TazDev, continued prayers for your DH!

I hope all of you are having a good Saturday

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good afternoon.

DH and I decided to go for a drive this afternoon. It was sunny but too cold and windy to walk. We decided to drive toward the Delaware Bay and just explore some wildlife refuge areas. (Port Penn and Odessa) But, because it is low lying swamp area and we had all the rain last night, we came upon lots of standing water on the roads. One or two we could drive through but we had to turn around at least two times and find another way. Still nice to get our of the house. And we got coffee at the Dunkin' drive through.

Carry out dinner tonight then football.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I hope those of you who watch football having winning teams tonight

I just posted this movie recording tip in the Hallmark thread. Sharing here, as well because we have discussed this The other day I had turned on Hallmark channel (after a movie had already started). I watched a couple minutes before a commercial. I flipped to other channels meanwhile. Eventually I did record the movie. What I did was set the start time to 15 minutes earlier than the original start time! That recorded the entire movie not just from where I had last turned it on! No clue whether this consistently works (I'll have to try it again some time and share) but I was quite pleased to have not missed any of the movie.

 

[PollyannaMom]

@flyingdumbo127, that's brilliant!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thanks, PollyannaMom, I thought of you when I realized that! I believe you were one of the friends who taught me about adding time to the end of a recording

 

[lynxstch]

Errands and grocery shopping done. Dinners decided on for the next 3 nights. Just finished a nice long relaxing beauty treatment. Laundry is done, bathrooms are clean. All that's left is to strip and remake our bed a little later. Dinner tonite is going to be taco salads, so he can watch the game while he eats. The LA Rams are fighting,,but Green Bay is ahead so far..11 min left in the 4'th quarter

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Just doing my part to keep us on page 1.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thank you, Carol!

I was able to score a deal on a pixma printer on Walmart! The same printer was near $100 on Amazon. We are paying just over $40 including 3 year square trade protection! What's even more a Blessing is I just checked the order to discover the same printer now costs over $60 more! It's the Canon PIXMA MG2522 (just in case any of you need to keep an eye on its price) The other grateful part to this is that it does use the same 245 and 246 (we have a brand new cartridge). So even if it does end up coming with any starter inks, the lower cost offsets that! We're going to try and think of any larger (or color) things we want to print while the old printer still works because we have both black and white and color left in it. I don't think used cartridges can be placed into a new printer?

Did any of you catch The Sweetest Ingredient this afternoon? I saw parts of the first half. Missed the rest and was wondering what happened (though I can guess). It was a movie from last year (I'm guessing around Valentine's Day) so maybe it'll be re aired this year for Valentine's Day.

Have a good night friends!

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning DIS family! Not too bad out, 35 out and a few snow flurries flying around. Going to be a whopping 38 for a high today.
Hubby was up late last nite watching the Ravens game--sorry for those of you who are fans. His Packers won so he is a pretty happy guy heading into next week's play off games. I will be rooting for the Buccaneers today.

@flyingdumbo127--Glad you got a new printer at such a bargain price Mona. To answer your question, no you shouldn't put used cartridges into a new printer, it can void the warranty from what I know. Glad that you can use the same inks, that's always a plus!

No plans for the day except for football of course. And all of my chores are done, so I may start a new puzzle today, since I have my glasses. I have gotten used to reading with them and they do make my eyes less tires, but I still have to take them off to watch tv, since they make everything too blurry. Such is the price of getting 'older' I guess.

Dinner tonite is going to be chicken fried steak, just have to figure out the sides.
Have a great Sunday all--thanks for continuing to keep this thread going!

The picture for today is how I feel, going back to bed for awhile, and planning on making it a do nothing day here, lol!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good Morning, Quackers!

Much nicer here than yesterday. - I think we're actually going to get a little sun!

Dh is still sleeping, but I was up early. I watched a history program on TV, and now I'm just goofing off online for a while until senior hours are over and I can get the grocery shopping done. My other goal for today is to pack up one last Christmas box and help DH get those up to the attic.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Good morning...we did not sleep well. Mostly from 2:30 until now, our Gus would get up and whine and Tom took him out twice and he did do business, but he just wouldn’t go back to sleep. He would come to me, get my attention with his nose, and want me to pet him.

I am glad we don’t have to work, we are retired, and it’s Sunday . He has only done something like this once before, maybe a month ago.

I’m letting Tom sleep now, I am up, petting Gus.